The Life Ahead
by jojojojpjojo
Summary: James and Lily would never dream of having a future together. They annoy each other with every aspect of their personality. But they seem to just click one day. Why? Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**James**

 _Year 1_

"Cut it out, James!" Lily whispered, rubbing the back of her head. I don't know why she whispered but it was most likely because she didn't want to draw attention. If she did, that meant getting in trouble for talking. No matter what she was saying.

I snickered with Sirius as he folded another paper airplane. I glance to the one on the floor by Lily's chair. It was Sirius' most perfect one and we didn't waste it at all.

"This one is going to be good," I whispered to him, taking the paper airplane out of his hand. He grinned and watched quietly as I pulled out my wand. I kept it low so Professor McGonagall wouldn't see.

I mumbled a spell I had just recently learned. The paper airplane hovered in the air for a second then darted to Lily's head. It smashed into the back of her head and fell to the floor. Lily jumped out of her seat and gasped.

"Ah!" She waved her hands by her face in disgust. Then, she put them down and gave me a glare. I covered my mouth and tried to hide my face under the desk. Sirius wasn't trying at all. He fell off of his chair and as holding his stomach. He was laughing uncontrollably.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Black!" Professor McGonagall barked. Sirius sat up, grinning. I didn't smile. I just sat up straight and shoved my wand into my pocket. I knew she probably had already seen it.

"You may see me after class." She said. Sirius leaned back in his chair, still grinning. She turned around to face the blackboard. Sirius' smile faded away and he looked at me. I turned my head a little to face him without being noticed.

"It's not that bad," He whispered. I shook my head. He must've saw the fear in my eyes.

After class, all the kids walked towards the door as Sirius and I walked away from it to Professor McGonagall, who was wiping the lesson off of the blackboard. We walked as slow as we could.

" and Mr. Black," she sighed. She glanced at us out of the corner of her eye and stopped erasing. "Do I dare ask what happened?" She put the eraser down on the blackboard ledge. She turned towards us. We put our heads down.

She waited.

"I threw a paper airplane at Lily Evans' head." I blurted out. Sirius hit me on the arm with the back of his hand. I glanced at him. He was giving a look that said "Stop talking! Now!"

"Don't lie, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall said, crossing her arms.

"And I used magic," I blurted again. Sirius groaned.

"Mr. Black, how were you involved in this?" She turned to the blackboard and grabbed the erasers again.

"I folded the paper airplanes." He mumbled. Professor McGonagall nodded her head and handed the erasers to him.

"Go clap these outside of the classroom please. Once James comes out, you will return the erasers to me. Now go." Sirius grabbed the erasers carefully and walked out of the classroom.

"James, your punishment will be 5 points taken from Gryffindor." She said, walking to her desk. She fidgeted with some objects on it.

5 points? That's it? He used magic to pull a joke on Lily! He probably should get 1 points taken. He didn't argue, though. 5 points was okay.

"But you have to be a little more kind to Lily Evans. There will be no more teasing her in my class. I expect you to also be nicer to her in the other classes." She sat down in her desk, hands folded.

"But Professor-"

"That's enough, Potter!" she said, sharply.

I stared at the floor. I had never been shouted at so harshly by Professor McGonagall. I nodded my head and started walking away. I clutched my books to my chest because I was afraid now. Professor McGonagall never shouted like she did at him.

I walked out the door to see Sirius there, slamming the erasers as hard as he could.

"James, why did you tell her?" Sirius whispered shouted. "You could've lied!"

"Shut up, Sirius! You know she'll do something to us that's way worse than telling the truth." I flung my arms up in the air. "Besides, she only took 5 points away."

"What?" He asked. He stopped hitting the erasers together.

"Yeah. But there was a catch." I said, readjusting my handle on my books. Sirius raised his eyebrows and turned to me. "She wants me to stop teasing Lily."

"We're not teasing her!" Sirius whispered complained. "She just needs to lighten up!"

"I know, I know. I agree but she said so." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Alright, hold on a minute." Sirius said, opening the door and marching in. I knew something bad was going to happen.

I put my ear to the door as I heard Sirius' feet stomp all the way to Professor McGonagall's desk.

"Professor McGonagall! May I state that Lily Evans needs to grow some thicker skin! We were only playing around. There is no harm in doing that. We aren't hurting her physically and I presume emotionally!"

This was the most well spoken moment of Sirius' life.

"Sirius Black! I will take no more of your nonsense!" I heard McGonagall push her chair back while standing up. "You will have detention for the rest of the week!" I heard Sirius groan and stomp down the walkway. He pushed open the door right in my face.

"Oh God, Sirius don't swing the bloody door open so hard!" I said, holding my nose.

"I don't care," he said, huffing. He stormed down the corridor, leaving me. Why was he so angry about this? I shook my head and followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily

Year 3

"The nerve, the audacity…" I huffed. I marched down the corridor, mumbling my thoughts on James Potter. "Filthy, rotten, idiotic…" I shook my head and stomped to the portrait of the lady. I knew he was in the common room with his buddies.

"Daisy Times." I snapped at her. She swung open, offended. She knew it was best to leave me be. I was grateful for that.

"Potter!" I yelled. I marched over to the fire place. He was laughing with Sirius and Remus. They were all sitting in the couches and chairs by the fireplace. I stood in front of the fire as their laughter was dying out.

I held out the toad that that I was almost squeezing to death.

"What is this? Why was it in my robes?" I tossed the toad to him which he caught in his lap.

"Lily, calm down," James said, laughing. "It's only a little toad. It won't bite you." He picked up the toad and stroked the back of the toad with his index finger. All of his friends were laughing.

"James, I don't find this very funny." I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"Oh did the wee 'ittle toad scare ya'?" Sirius said in an Irish accent. "Were you afraid it was goin' to bite ya'?"

"Shut up, Sirius!" I shouted.

I noticed a crowd had gathered around them. Everyone was silent.

"Lily, can't you take a joke?" James asked, putting his arms around the chair. The toad was sitting in his lap. I looked over to Remus who was covering his mouth. I shook my head.

"I can take a joke! I can take a good joke! Yours was frankly an idiotic one!" I yelled. James laughed and so did everyone surrounding him. I was being beat. James was much more popular than everyone else that he could squash what little reputation I had.

So I had to do what was right.

I sighed and marched over to the hole in the wall. I heard James stand up all of a sudden and everyone grew eerily quiet. I paused as he called my name.

"Lily! Where are you going?" He asked. I could tell everyone was holding their breath to see what I would say. I turned around and smirked.

"I'm going to tell Professor McGonagall." I said, standing a little taller.

"Oh, I knew it! Little Miss Tattle-Tale is going to rat on him to McGonagall!" Peter had called out. He was another friend of James'. He was in the crowd with the rest. Everyone nodded. Oddly, I saw James' look of shock and fear on his face.

"No, Lily, you don't want to do that." He said. "Please don't tell McGonagall."

I saw everyone look at James in confusion. He sounded desperate. Why was he like this? This would do some damage on his reputation.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Just don't." He said, walking over. "I promise you it was a harmless joke and that I won't do it again." He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. I looked into his and unfortunately, got lost in them. I almost always did this when he got close to my face. They were so hypnotizing. He was kind of handsome…

"Lily?"

"Yeah, okay, okay just keep your filthy toads to yourself." I sighed. He had shaken me out of my trance. James smiled and slid his hands down to my hands and held them.

"Thank you, Lily." He mumbled. Then, he leaned in to my ear and whispered, "I'll pay you back sometime." I felt my hands getting sweaty. He let go before I embarrassed myself.

I noddd my head and sighed again. I always fell for this before I was going to McGonagall. I had to stop at sometime. But his charm always worked.

"Just pay me back by not pranking me. Then, we'll be even." I whispered. He was still by my face.

"What?" He asked, confusion on his face.

"You heard what I said. Stop pranking me and I won't sneak off to McGonagall." I smirked. He shook his head and sighed.

"Hey, Potter, you and Evans exchanging love notes? Whatcha doing?" Someone yelled out in the crowd. James looked down and stepped back. He moved his eyes to look at me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"We'll talk later," he mumbled. I knew it. He couldn't risk his reputation for something like this. I scoffed and shook my head. He ignored me and walked off.

Everyone looked at him funny. They were confused why he held my hands. I was too. I got nervous and furious when he held my hands. I wanted to scream at him and squeeze his hands.

I hated him. I hated him for being annoying and making me feel other emotions I don't want to feel.


	3. Chapter 3

Year 6

James

"Nice quidditch practice, James! Your flying has gotten so much better. See you next week." The keeper of the Gryffindor team waved. I smiled and waved back, carrying my broom and walking down the corridor.

I walked to the portrait of the fat lady, tracking muddy footprints. I had just had a four hour quidditch practice. I was extremely hungry because I hadn't eaten much breakfast and I missed lunch. I was begging for dinner.

"Mandrake cry," I said to the portrait.

The portrait door swung open and I walked through the hole. The first thing I saw was Sirius and Mooney cornering Severus into a corner. Mooney wasn't really doing anything but Sirius kept poking Severus' chest. I decided to sit down and to prop my broom against the arm of the chair. I put my elbow on the arm and put my hand on the side of my forehead.

"Snape, what's your problem?" Sirius spat at him. He poked his chest and started tapping the side of shoulders. "C'mon, nerd. Speak up, retard. Are you dumb?"

"Shut up, Sirius." He muttered. Mooney smirked.

"That all you got, bloody idiot?" Sirius shoved him. Severus' eyes filled with fury and he shoved Sirius back. My eyes widened.

Some kids around me were whispering about it. Then, they got up and crowded around one by one. Sirius smirked and motioned to go again.

"C'mon, Severus! That all you got?"

Snape wrapped his arm around Sirius' neck and pulled him down. Sirius was gasping for air. The crowd was cheering and chanting for them to fight. I smirked and was silently cheering for Sirius. We used to wrestle so I knew some of strengths.

Sirius pulled out of his headlock and grabbed his arms. He pushed him to the ground and pinned him. I saw Sirius lean his head down to Snape's ear. He muttered something in his ear. He was still squirming to get out of his hold. I saw Sirius grit his teeth and let go.

Snape stood up and swung his fist at his head. Sirius dodged it and kicked him. Snape yelled out and fell to his knees. His hands were clamped over his groin. I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh. The crowd booed.

"Not the balls! That doesn't count!" Someone shouted out.

Sirius waved them off and pulled Snape by his shirt. Then, Snape swung again and hit Sirius right in the head. I shook my head and chuckled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily. I turned to see her shaking her head and crossing her arms. I braced myself for the worst which was her storming up to the fight and yelling.

But it didn't.

Lily just rolled her eyes and walked out of the common room. I thought she was just going to some class for a second. But I knew my prediction was wrong, once I saw the portrait open and a tall figure was storming through it. I groaned.

"What is the meaning of this? Fighting in the common room?!" Professor McGonagall shrieked. The boys stopped punching and looked up. They immediately stood up as the crowd walked away, pretending not to notice.

"Both of you. Follow me. Now!" Her eyes were filled with rage as she stomped back to the exit. Lily was standing right there with a smug look on her face. She had gotten them. Again.

I knew that's because she hated Sirius. But Snape? I thought she liked him.

I did hear a rumour a week before that Snape had given her the hand in the Library. She was yammering on about something like always and Snape just got up and left. She sat there with a look of shock.

But as I said, it's just a rumour.

Lily walked over to where I was sitting, not noticing me. Once she sat down she did and groaned.

"What?" I asked, putting my feet up on the table in between us.

"Did you just see that fight? And just stood by? Not doing anything?" She asked, leaning forward in her chair. I grinned.

"Yes, I did. It was a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Your boy Severus there wasn't lookin too good." Lily scowled.

"He's not 'my boy'. How could you do something like that? Well, I take that back. I know you couldn't do anything like that." She shrugged her shoulders and got up. I grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean I couldn't do something like that? Do you mean being a tattle tale? Because the reason I couldn't do that is because that would make me a sourpuss." I gave her a fake smile and stood up, letting go of her arm. I grabbed my broom and walked to the staircase up to the rooms.

"I'M NOT A SOURPUSS, JAMES POTTER!" She shrieked. I spun around to see her eyes red. I didn't mean for it to hit that close to home. It was just a little name calling. I didn't stop though. I didn't know what came over me but it was awful.

"Get a hint, Lily! You have no friends but that Snape! Even he doesn't like you and you call him a 'close friend'." Bullets were just flying out of my mouth.

"STOP IT, STOP IT POTTER!" She bawled. I felt awful but another rush of anger filled me.

"Why don't you get a life outside of books, mudblood?" I spat. I covered my mouth and stared at her. I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks as her mouth was wide open. I immediately ran up to my bed and threw the broom underneath it.

What did I just do?


	4. Chapter 4

_Year 5_

Lily

I forcefully shook the spoon to get some mashed potatoes on my plate. They slowly fell off onto my my plate. I sighed and put the spoon back in the bowl. I covered my eyes with my hands.

Stupid Potter. Stupid, idiotic potter.

Why? Why was he so cruel?

I felt tears welling up in my eyes but I fought them. I didn't want James to see my weak side again. I glanced through my fingers to see him laughing with his buddies. They were flicking food at each other with spoons as slingshots. He was a few people down.

I looked over at the Slytherin table to see Snape reading and eating. I saw a few Slytherin boys flicking food at him. I always admired how studious he was.

He was so serious about his studies that he didn't even talk to me.

I sighed and put my hands on the table.

"Lily, is there something bothering you?" I flinched and turned around. Nearly-Headless Nick was floating right behind me. "You've been like this for a couple of weeks now." He had a look of concern on her face.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm okay. Thanks, Nick." I smiled weakly.

He nodded his head which made it flip off his head. I put my hands over my mouth and gasped.

"Whoops!" He exclaimed. He slapped the side of his head back onto his neck. When I realized he was okay, I giggled.

Nick smiled and bid me farewell as he usually did. I waved goodbye to him and he floated away. I turned back around and returned to my sad mashed potatoes. I looked around the table and saw nothing else that looked appetizing. As I stared down into my food, I realized I wasn't hungry.

I waited until we were dismissed to go up to the common room. I sat in front of the fire and grabbed a book off of the table and read it. I read it until I heard James' posse coming in. I rolled my eyes and moved them to the portrait hole. They were yelling and high fiving each other. I didn't care what they had done. i went back to my book.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later." I heard James talking to his buddies. I glanced up and saw them nodding their heads. They left and went up to their dormitories. I saw James walk over to my where I was.

"Alright, Lily?" He asked. I ignored him. He sighed and sat down.

"Lily, I just want to say I'm sorry." I pretended to read on. "Can you hear me?"

"Go away, James. I don't care." I said.

"Lily? C'mon, talk to me."

I slammed my book together and threw it on the table. I felt the anger had been boiling inside of me for a long time and I needed to let it all out.

"James, the reason I don't want to talk to you is because you said things that you can't take back. You said things that you knew were sensitive to me. You are a two-faced filthy animal!" I yelled. "You just kept kicking me down! You just said 'Hey there's a girl who I haven't bullied yet.'" I stood up and walked over to the stairs to go up to our dormitories.

"Lily, I had no idea what I was saying! I just..."

"You just what? You just thought you should call a girl mud blood in front of everyone?" I shot back.

There was a silence. I could hear the fire crackling. What was taking so long for James to respond?

"Lily, just hear me out. I was overwhelmed with the fight and you bringing in McGonagall and-" I cut him off.

"Save it, James! We've already talked enough then I would like to talk to you." I scowled and started to rush up the stairs.

Then, I felt a hand grab mine.

I stopped breathing for a second and paused. I slowly turned my head to see James in mid-lunge to my hand.

"Lily..."

I looked into his eyes which hypnotized me again. I stood there, hand in hand with him, staring into his eyes. I didn't want to look away. I didn't want to leave this spot.

"James, don't do this to me," I whispered. I shook my head.

"Lily, please, I'm really sorry. Not a word I said I meant." He whispered back.

"I need some space." I squeezed his hand and gave him a pleading look. I ran up the stairs and into my four-poster bed. All the girls had already gone to sleep.

I put on my nightgown on and climbed into my bed. I sighed and felt a tear stream down my cheek. I wiped it away but more came.

James Potter, I wish you could just stop looking at me with those eyes. Then, I could actually be able to tell McGonagall about what you said.


	5. Chapter 5

Year 5

James

I walked over to the window to stare at the snow outside. It was a soft, airy snowfall. It was beautiful out. I stared at the frozen lake that had a few students on it ice skating. I smiled and thought how nice it would be to do that now.

Then, I decided to get out of my pajamas and start the day. Even though it was 11 o'clock in the morning.

I walked down to the common room to find no one there. I looked everywhere but not a soul was in the Gryffindor common room. I knew a majority of the people had gone home for the holidays. Including Sirius and Mooney. I was stuck with Peter Pettigrew, who I was friends with but would prefer not to be stuck with.

I walked through the portrait hole and into the corridor. I smiled and strutted to the library. I needed to check out some books for class.

I walked in and looked out the tall windows. The window sills outside had snow piled on them. It was darker then what I saw earlier. A storm was probably about to come.

I saw that a few students were squished together and talking at tables. They were whispering because the librarian was very strict. I made my way over to the bookshelves. As I grew closer to them, I recognized some red hair and a familiar face.

Lily was skimming her fingers on the book's spines. She was admiring them, studying them very carefully. I stood next to her.

"Hi," I whispered

She flinched and glanced at me. Then, she turned away but whipped her head around again. "J-James?"

"Yeah, that's my name." I said, looking at the books.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered yelled. I shrugged my shoulders and grinned.

"I'm here to check out a book." She rolled her eyes.

"A picture book? I don't think there are any easy reads here, James." She smirked. I chuckled a little to her surprise. She grabbed a book moved to the right. I moved with her.

"Hey, how come I haven't gotten in trouble? I've been awaiting my punishment for quite some time now. When is it coming?" I joked.

I noticed she looked down automatically. She had gotten into this shutdown mode. She grew quiet.

"Lily?"

"I didn't tell her." She mumbled. I, too, looked down.

There was a silence as I was contemplating. One of the great things about Lily is that she gives me time to think. I stared at my feet, thinking of something to say. I rocked back on my heels and just grabbed a book at random.

I quickly left the aisle and went to check out the book that I had no idea what it was. I glanced at the cover to see the title which was _How To Treat Magical Injuries._ I sighed and speed-walked to the counter.

I glanced over my shoulder as the librarian was writing down something on parchment. I saw Lily still staring at the ground, walking through the shelves. She glanced up once or twice to look at the books.

I needed to say something to her.

I nodded my head at the librarian who nodded hers back. I rushed over to Lily. She quickly turned around once she heard me and looked up to see me. I wrapped my arms around her and put my head on the top of hers. I squeezed her tight.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you, Lily." Lily didn't put her arms around me until she realized what was going on. Then, she squeezed me tight back.

"You know, you really hurt me, James." She whispered back. I nodded my head.

"I know, I know and you have no idea how sorry I am." I sighed.

"Actually, I do know." She snapped. She pushed me away and stepped back, as if I were poison. "You can never take back what you said. I've said this already. I wish so hard that I could tell McGonagall but…" She broke off. I looked at her with a questioning look. She shook her head and stomped off.

"Lily, is there anything, anything I can do?" I yelled after her. Everyone turned to me, judgment in their eyes. How could I just yell out in the library? The librarian got up and stared at me with intent eyes. She put a finger to her lips and sat back down. I was surprised I didn't get in more trouble.

I saw Lily quickly walked back to me, looking furious.

"Yeah, you can do something for me." She whispered yelled. "Stay the bloody hell away from me."

"Tomorrow night, we will have a big dinner party for Christmas Day!" Dumbledore exclaimed at dinner on on Christmas Eve. Murmurs were heard across the hall. I stayed still.

"Come tomorrow ready to dance and eat your hearts out!" Dumbledore yelled. The students that stayed for the holidays clapped in excitement. It was going to be fun but not fun. Dressing up was not my specialty.

Dumbledore dismissed us to go back to our houses. As I walked, I realized I was thinking about something that I shouldn't have.

What was Lily going to wear?


	6. Chapter 6

Year 5

James

"Alright there, James?" Peter asked, straightening his bow tie. He wore a blazer with dress pants and a green button down shirt underneath the blazer. His bow tie was red. He was standing in front of a big mirror.

"Yeah, kind of. I mean, Sirius and Mooney aren't here so it kind of sucks." I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah, but what about the girls, man?" Peter grinned.

"The girls?"

"Yeah, the girls! Are you deaf?" He asked, looking at me. I looked at the beds that surrounded the center of the circular dormitory.

"No. C'mon, let's go. The thing is supposed to start…" I looked at the grandfather clock. "It already started." I sighed. "You take too long, just like a girl!"

"Bloody hell, I don't! It's you with your messy hair!" He said, pointing at my hair.

"Nothing is wrong with my hair, now let's go." I said, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away from the mirror.

We walked out of the common room and down to the Great Hall. The tables were gone and instead, circular tables were in the back of the room. Snow was magically falling from the ceiling and there were Christmas tree that lined the side of the Hall. They were all covered with snow and decorations. There was a giant table filled with different sweets and Christmas food. It was like a buffet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the music will begin…" Dumbledore exclaimed. He raised his right hand and brought it down. "Now!"

Classical, ballroom dancing music began to play. Seventh years began picking partners and dancing on the dance floor, which was in the form of ice (you couldn't slip on it).

"See you later, James. I see a girl just begging for me over there." Peter said, pointing to a group of girls that were across the dance floor. One of them was waving at him.

"Isn't that the girl you're partners with in Charms?" I asked.

"Maybe." Then, he walked off.

I shook my head and made my way over to the buffet. I was really hungry and I didn't want to dance. I saw a plump girl with a purple dress on. I noticed her from Gryffindor. She as piling her plate with chicken and sweets. She turned around and almost bumped into me.

"Oh, excuse me." She said, almost dropping her food. I shook my head and apologized to her.

"No, I'm sorry, I should've been more careful." I said, moving out of her way. She slowly looked up at me and squeaked.

"J-James Potter? " She asked, a shocked on her face. I looked at her with confusion. How did she know me and why was she so shocked?

"Yeah, that's my name…" I said, giving her a questioning look.

"Clover, c'mon!" A girl shouted behind me. I turned around and saw it was a dark-skinned girl who was also in Gryffindor. She was running towards us, waving at Clover. She stopped when she got to us and her smile disappeared.

"James?" She asked. I nodded my head slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Clover, let's go." She said quickly and grabbing her hand. Clover held her food in front of her, worried it might fall. I saw them run off to a group of Gryffindor girls. They were whispering about something that was most likely me. They all gasped and looked my way.

I waved and they all started giggling. I rolled my eyes and turned around. I grabbed a plate and started putting some food on it.

I went to a table and started eating with some other people. They were all mostly from Ravenclaw. I laughed and talked with them about classes, Quidditch and the latest broom model, the Starcatcher. I got up and decided to put my plate away. When I did, I turned around to see everyone was dancing on the floor. There was very few people on the side, watching. I studied those people and realized I didn't know any of them. Until I noticed that red hair.

Lily was standing by the dance floor, watching everyone. She was wearing a deep red dress that reached her feet that had a deep neckline. She had her hair curled and in an updo. Her subtle eye makeup made her eyes almost shimmer in the light.

Then, I noticed her necklace.

She was wearing the one I gave her. I felt my jaw fall to the ground. She was actually wearing the one I gave her. I looked around to see if anyone noticed but of course no one did. I was just being an idiot because she was wearing the necklace I gave her.

I knew I had to go up and talk to her but I couldn't bring myself to move. She was standing there, looking so elegant and amazing I couldn't bring myself to do much but laugh.

I finally decided to move my feet and to walk over to her but I also decided to not use my feet correctly and face plant. Luckily, she didn't see.

I was so close to her I could almost yell out to her. I felt my hands getting sweaty and my feet weighing a ton. I grew closer and closer to her. I could almost say something to her. She still couldn't see me even though I was four meters away.

I was going to do it. I was going to talk to her in a civilized manner.

"Lily, would you like to dance?" Severus had come in between Lily and I. I flung my arms up in the air as Lily nodded her head. She smiled as he held her by the waist. Her hands were on his shoulder and hands. I sighed as she went twirling off with Sirius.

Lily, then, looked over Severus' shoulder and looked straight at me. I gave her a weak smile and walked over to a table where I sat down and played with the cloth on the table.

I noticed the same group of girls who were giggling at me earlier had gathered in a corner and giving Severus the stink eye. I watched as they started whispering and pointing at him. Then, they go into a tight huddle and were whispering loudly.

"You cover her…. I get Severus…. Make sure he doesn't get to her…. Okay the song is almost over…" They all shushed each other as the song ended. I saw Lily curtsy to Severus. Severus bowed to her in return. Lily, then, whispered in his ear and made her way over to me.


	7. Chapter 7

Year 5

James

"Alright there, James?" Peter asked, straightening his bow tie. He wore a blazer with dress pants and a green button down shirt underneath the blazer. His bow tie was red. He was standing in front of a big mirror.

"Yeah, kind of. I mean, Sirius and Mooney aren't here so it kind of sucks." I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah, but what about the girls, man?" Peter grinned.

"The girls?"

"Yeah, the girls! Are you deaf?" He asked, looking at me. I looked at the beds that surrounded the center of the circular dormitory.

"No. C'mon, let's go. The thing is supposed to start…" I looked at the grandfather clock. "It already started." I sighed. "You take too long, just like a girl!"

"Bloody hell, I don't! It's you with your messy hair!" He said, pointing at my hair.

"Nothing is wrong with my hair, now let's go." I said, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away from the mirror.

We walked out of the common room and down to the Great Hall. The tables were gone and instead, circular tables were in the back of the room. Snow was magically falling from the ceiling and there were Christmas tree that lined the side of the Hall. They were all covered with snow and decorations. There was a giant table filled with different sweets and Christmas food. It was like a buffet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the music will begin…" Dumbledore exclaimed. He raised his right hand and brought it down. "Now!"

Classical, ballroom dancing music began to play. Seventh years began picking partners and dancing on the dance floor, which was in the form of ice (you couldn't slip on it).

"See you later, James. I see a girl just begging for me over there." Peter said, pointing to a group of girls that were across the dance floor. One of them was waving at him.

"Isn't that the girl you're partners with in Charms?" I asked.

"Maybe." Then, he walked off.

I shook my head and made my way over to the buffet. I was really hungry and I didn't want to dance. I saw a plump girl with a purple dress on. I noticed her from Gryffindor. She as piling her plate with chicken and sweets. She turned around and almost bumped into me.

"Oh, excuse me." She said, almost dropping her food. I shook my head and apologized to her.

"No, I'm sorry, I should've been more careful." I said, moving out of her way. She slowly looked up at me and squeaked.

"J-James Potter? " She asked, a shocked on her face. I looked at her with confusion. How did she know me and why was she so shocked?

"Yeah, that's my name…" I said, giving her a questioning look.

"Clover, c'mon!" A girl shouted behind me. I turned around and saw it was a dark-skinned girl who was also in Gryffindor. She was running towards us, waving at Clover. She stopped when she got to us and her smile disappeared.

"James?" She asked. I nodded my head slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Clover, let's go." She said quickly and grabbing her hand. Clover held her food in front of her, worried it might fall. I saw them run off to a group of Gryffindor girls. They were whispering about something that was most likely me. They all gasped and looked my way.

I waved and they all started giggling. I rolled my eyes and turned around. I grabbed a plate and started putting some food on it.

I went to a table and started eating with some other people. They were all mostly from Ravenclaw. I laughed and talked with them about classes, Quidditch and the latest broom model, the Starcatcher. I got up and decided to put my plate away. When I did, I turned around to see everyone was dancing on the floor. There was very few people on the side, watching. I studied those people and realized I didn't know any of them. Until I noticed that red hair.

Lily was standing by the dance floor, watching everyone. She was wearing a deep red dress that reached her feet. She had her hair in an updo and a little mistletoe on the side of her dress, keeping two straps together. Her ratings were bright and shimmers in the light.

Then, I noticed her necklace.

She was wearing the one I gave her. I felt my jaw fall to the ground. She was actually wearing the one I gave her. I looked around to see if anyone noticed but of course no one did. I was just being an idiot because she was wearing the necklace I gave her.

I knew I had to go up and talk to her but I couldn't bring myself to move. She was standing there, looking so elegant and amazing I couldn't bring myself to do much but laugh.

I finally decided to move my feet and to walk over to her but I also decided to not use my feet correctly and face plant. Luckily, she didn't see.

I was so close to her I could almost yell out to her. I felt my hands getting sweaty and my feet weighing a ton. I grew closer and closer to her. I could almost say something to her. She still couldn't see me even though I was four meters away.

I was going to do it. I was going to talk to her in a civilized manner.

"Lily, would you like to dance?" Severus had come in between Lily and I. I flung my arms up in the air as Lily nodded her head. She smiled as he held her by the waist. Her hands were on his shoulder and hands. I sighed as she went twirling off with Sirius.

Lily, then, looked over Severus' shoulder and looked straight at me. I gave her a weak smile and walked over to a table where I sat down and played with the cloth on the table.

I noticed the same group of girls who were giggling at me earlier had gathered in a corner and giving Severus the stink eye. I watched as they started whispering and pointing at him. Then, they go into a tight huddle and were whispering loudly.

"You cover her…. I get Severus…. Make sure he doesn't get to her…. Okay the song is almost over…" They all shushed each other as the song ended. I saw Lily curtsy to Severus. Severus bowed to her in return. Lily, then, whispered in his ear and made her way over to me.


	8. Chapter 8

Year 5

Lily

Dancing with Severus was drama free. But drama free comes with a price. Which was that there was no laughter or conversation. He kept bringing up the test next week which I was already for. I had studied constantly for it.

Once the song was over I curtsied to him which he bowed back. I put my hand on shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Excuse me."

I didn't see his reaction because I was too busy focusing on James. He was slouching in the chair, studying the wall. I saw the boredom in his eyes. I approached him and cleared my throat. He turned his head automatically and smiled.

"You're wearing the necklace," He said, gesturing to my chest. I looked down and blushed.

"Yeah, I think it's really pretty." I said. He smiled even more so I could see his perfectly straight teeth. "I'm sorry, I didn't get you anything." I sighed.

"Don't bother. C'mon, let's dance." He said, standing up and giving me his hands.

"Oh, I don't-" I tried to refuse but he shook his head.

"Don't give me that crap. I just saw you dancing with Severus." He pulled me onto the dance floor and put his hand on my hip. It felt more comfortable than Severus' cold hand. I put one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. He squeezed mine and grinned.

"Now, let me warn you, I'm not as graceful as you were with Snape." He said, looking down at his feet. I laughed and put my finger under his chin, pulling it up.

"Bullshit," I said. He chuckled and nodded his head.

Severus didn't like it when I swore. He always corrected me and told me ladies don't swear. I realized James didn't care. Which I liked.

He would glance down at his feet every now and then to make sure he was getting the steps right. I assured him he was. He would laugh and joke around, tripping over his own feet. I was smiling the entire time.

I didn't want the song to end.

When it did, James spun me around really quickly and I saw everyone in a blur. I saw all the colors mix together and start swirling around. I was getting a headache. Then, he stopped me, and dipped me and my head flew back. I had a goofy smile on my face. I saw the world upside down.

James pulled me up and people around us started clapping. I blushed and laughed. James grabbed my hand and raised it up for everyone to see. We both smiled. Then he let go of it and turned to me as the next song played.

"Want to get out of here?" He asked. My eyes grew wide. I wasn't thinking at all. My mind was blank and was just focusing on James. "It's boring in here anyways." He shrugged.

I grinned and nodded my head. He grabbed my hand and walked off the dance floor, sneaking out of the Great Hall. Then, we started running when we got into the corridor. I felt myself giggling uncontrollably. He started laughing too. He was still holding my hand as we ran down the hall.

"Where are we going?" I giggled. He turned around, still running, and grinned. He shrugged his shoulders. I didn't stop following him or let go of his hand. I felt such an adrenaline rush and I loved it.

We ran all the way up to the astronomy tower where there was the best view of the lake. Once we got up there, we were huffing and bending over, laughing. It was freezing up there but it didn't matter since we were already sweating. James fell to the floor and looked up at the ceiling. He put his hands over his head, letting himself breathe.

"That dance was crappy." He said, finally. I nodded my head and fell to the floor next to him. I was in the same position he was in, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm surprised you didn't say no to me, Evans." He joked. I playfully punched him and he laughed. "I'm just shocked you aren't yourself. I kind of like this side of you."

I grinned. "Well, I guess I'm just different tonight. Maybe it's something about the dress." I smoothed it out so there weren't any wrinkles in it.

There was a silence as we both thought about what we were doing. I was thinking of how much trouble we were going to get in if someone found us out. Then, I had this wave of coolness come over my, emotionally. I didn't care what the teachers thought. I didn't care about homework, tests, or anything else. I cared about what I was doing right now, which was having a good time.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you feel like… like you just don't care all the time?"

"Can you be more specific?"

"Well, maybe you don't care about your homework or what teachers think-"

"Oh yeah, all the time. I care more about what my friends think than school."

"Why? Don't you care at all about your future?"

"Well, my future is already sorted out."

"How so?"

"I'm going to be a Quidditch player."

I laughed. "Okay, okay."

"What do you mean 'okay, okay'?" He said, defensively.

"Nothing, it's just that you have big dreams. And that's a good thing."

All of a sudden, James reached down and grabbed my hand. He squeezed it and stroked it with his thumb. I froze up.

"Lily, I-"

I knew where this was going. And I wanted it so badly.

"James, I'm sorry. I have… to go back to bed. I'm exhausted." I said, sitting up.

"Oh, Lily, c'mon don't leave! Don't pretend like you don't know it!" He sat up too but I stood up.

"Know what? That…" I gestured between us. He nodded his head. "James, I'm sorry but I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. This is way too complicated and I can't think straight and…"

James jumped up and grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in.

"James! Stop it!" I shrieked. He paused and looked me straight in the eye. I gave him a sorrowful look. His eyes were filled with embarrassment and he blushed. He looked down.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"It's okay, I just need some space. I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, James." I said, walking off. I didn't hear his response.


	9. Chapter 9

Year 5

James

"Hey, Sirius," I whispered. He looked at me grinning.

"Yeah?"

I pushed a note to him. It was a drawing that I got to move that was of Professor Flitwick. He was shrinking even more and sparks were flying out of wand. Sirius snickered and pushed it back. He mouthed 'Amazing' to me.

"Now, you have to flick your wand with the wrist, remember that." Professor Flitwick stated, demonstrating. I glanced at Lily across the room who was practicing the motion with her wand. I turned my head back and practiced the motion too.

Professor Flitwick nodded at me and beamed. "Now this is what you should be doing students, follow Mr. Potter's example."

Sirius looked at me in confusion as he covered his mouth from trying not to laugh.

"What?" I whispered.

"Nothing, you are just acting like a future prefect." He was still covering his mouth and laughing.

"Shut up," I mumbled.

"Hall monitoring with Evans over there. That would be so perfect." He didn't know what happened over Christmas break. All he knew was that we danced because word gets around fast.

"Mr. Black, if I see you talking again, you'll be going to see Dumbledore." Professor Flitwick threatened.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Sirius mumbled behind his hand to me. I grinned a little.

"What was that, Mr. Black?" He snapped. Sirius stared at him with an innocent look.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't say anything except that it really isn't a threat for me to see Dumbledore." Professor Flitwick's face grew red. The class giggled.

"That's it! Out!" He burst, pointing at the door. Sirius got up, sighing, and walked slowly to the door. He then, pretended that his foot caught on a chair and fell. The entire class roared with laughter as he got up, Professor Flitwick fuming with anger.

"Sirius…"

"I know, I'm leaving. I just fell, Professor, in case you hadn't noticed." Sirius got up and walked out the door, waving to everybody. I glanced over at Lily, who couldn't help but manage a grin.

After class, Sirius met up with me outside the library. We walked down to lunch where we saw Mooney and Peter. They were debating something and looked engaged in it.

"Ah, James! Since Peter is clearly not on any Hogwarts Quidditch teams and has no idea what he's talking about, the Irish Quidditch team is much better than the Scottish, right?" Mooney said, clearly furious.

"Uh yeah. Well, the Irish have a brilliant keeper who won't let anything in and their seeker isn't bad but he's a little bulky. Seekers need to be quick and small."

Mooney pointed right in Peter's face and yelled out " Ha!" Peter shook his head.

"No, no look at the Scottish seeker! He's small-"

"But not fast!" Mooney exclaimed. People were staring at him now. It didn't matter though because we all didn't care.

This argument went on until Sirius and I were done eating. While we were, they always asked for my input on the Quidditch teams. I answered in the beginning but I just started shrugging when they kept asking.

We left the great hall to go to transfiguration with McGonagall. I walked and laughed with my friends. I was having such a good time when Lily started walking in front of us. Sirius nudged me while Mooney grinned. I rolled my eyes, about to punch both of their lights out.

It hurt me to see she had no one to walk with. No one. She always walked alone unless she walked with Snape down to meals.

I felt awful. I should have felt nothing but I had so slowly grown to like her and empathize with her. I shook my head as if to shake the feelings out. I needed to stop.

"You okay, James?" Sirius asked. I jumped and looked at him.

"Yeah, I'm okay…" I turned back to stare at Lily. Her red hair was almost down to her waist. It swung back and forth as she walked. It looked almost fake it was so perfect.

I knew I couldn't get these feelings out. No force could get them out.

The rest of the year I tried to forget about Lily. I tried to focus on Quidditch and, oddly, my studies. I hung out with Sirius, Peter, and Mooney. I would meet up with them in the Great Hall and find myself, in the end, in the Library. I would always sit near Lily, but not too close. I didn't want her thinking I liked her.

Even though she probably knew it.

Classes grew shorter as I passed the time doodling. I doodled teachers, other students, and monsters. A lot of the time I put in a flower in the corner and I don't even know why. It looked like a Lily if I drew it well.

The weirdest part about my interactions with Lily was that I always was paired up with her in classes. McGonagall would assign partners and she, majority of the time, would pair me and Evans up. That was always awkward but it turned out okay in the end. Lily would always do the most work, even though I offered to help. She wouldn't talk.

She probably didn't care. I didn't mind as long as I could just hear her voice.


	10. Chapter 10

**Before you read, just some shoutouts to people who have supported me through all of my writing. First off,** **tkmemmott** **has been a huge supporter of me and their writing is amazing. You should go follow them. Also,** **Sakura Lupin** **has done everything to support me as well. They've written reviews and followed my story. This chapter is for them. Thanks so much to these two people! You've been so much help to me!**

Year 5-6

Lily

The school year was coming to an end and I was pretty happy about that. I didn't have to see James Potter and his buddies everyday. That was such a relief.

The week before the school year was over, I decided to hang around some empty classrooms, try to study in silence. The library was a good place to do that but it wasn't completely silent. And besides, they have blackboards which I can write out my studies in.

One night I was writing an equation for transfiguration when I heard something outside of the castle. I approached the window and pushed the curtain aside carefully. I peered through the window, looking to the lake and forbidden forest. I heard the noise again and it sounded like a howling. I flinched.

Then, in the dark, I saw a werewolf. He was howling to the moon. I gasped and let go of the curtain. I held my chest and breathed in and out.

A real life werewolf, on the Hogwarts grounds.

I pushed the curtain aside again and looked around for it. It was darting towards the forbidden forest. I watched in fascination as he howled once again and disappeared. I almost smashed my face against the glass to get another look at it, but it was gone. I sighed and closed the curtain.

I packed up my books and quills to go back to the common room. I was still shaking a little from what I saw. I climbed up the steps and walked through the corridors. I sighed so many times from trying to calm myself down.

A real life werewolf. It's not uncommon that mythical creatures are on Hogwarts grounds but a werewolf? If Dumbledore knew he would try to get rid of it. The second he knew he would banish it.

Then again, there is a giant squid in the lake.

"Mandrake cry," I exclaimed to the portrait. She opened her eyes and peered down at me with them.

"You shouldn't be up this late. If anyone finds out-" She whispered yelled.

"But no one has to know. I'm sorry I awoke you." I whispered. She sighed and swung open. I crept in and silently walked up the stairs. I walked into the dormitory where all the girls were sleeping. I changed into my nightgown and went back down to the common room.

In the corner there was a little nook that was against the window. I sat there and looked out the window. I leaned my forehead against it, looking for the werewolf. I peered at the forbidden forest. From the Gryffindor common room, I could see majority of the grounds.

I sighed and watched. Every so often I would hear a howl and sit up, seeing if he was back. But he would never come out. I felt my eyes drooping as I studied the edge of the forest. Then, without noticing, I fell asleep.

I heard footsteps in the common room. I bolted up and whipped my head around. I just realised I was sleeping on the nook the entire night. I put my feet on the ground and gasped.

I saw Remus in tattered clothes.

"Remus, what happened? Are you alright?" I asked. He flinched and looked at me, fear in his eyes.

"Oh, Lily. Hi. Yeah, I'm okay, I'm fine. I… just… I can explain."

"Were you attacked by that werewolf? I saw one last night and tried to stay up all night to find it." I approached him and studied him carefully. His clothes seemed as though someone too big had tried to fit into them. He had ruffled hair and his eyes were bloodshot.

"No! No, I wasn't associated with any werewolf! I was just… I was roaming around the halls with a map I have. I'm going to… go to bed. I'm exhausted." He smiled weakly and waved at me as he walked off. Then, I ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

I had just realized something.

"Remus! Remus, answer me one thing." I asked. He paused and stared back at me. He was shaking a little.

"Yeah?"

"Can you let me help you?"

"What?"

"Let me help you. I don't want to say it out loud but…" I whispered. I leaned in towards his ear. "It was you, wasn't it? The werewolf?"

He shook his head furiously. "No! Why would you say that?"

"Your clothes obviously look like someone who was way to big tried to fit in them. I can tell. Also, you don't lie very well." I smirked. He gulped and nodded hi head very slowly.

"Okay… okay. But what are _you_ going to do?" He asked, turning all the way around. I faced him.

"Leave that to me. I'll give it to you next year since it's practically the end of the year." I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Okay, one more thing. Can you not tell anyone else? Just for obvious reasons and-"

"My lips are sealed." I said, motioning across my lips like I was zippering them.

"Thank you so much, Lily." He said, smiling at me.

"It'll be my pleasure." I smirked and pushed him a little. "Now go on, get some sleep." He laughed and walked up the stairs.

Over the summer, I had come up with the perfect plan. I was sure it was foolproof. I had spent days sending owls and mixing potions. This was the best plan I had ever come up with. Majority of my summer was in my room, making sure I would help Remus.


	11. Chapter 11

Year 6

James

"New year, clean slate." Sirius sighed as we pushed our cart towards the train. I shook my head.

"No way. You think the teachers will forget that stunt we pulled last year?" I asked, grinning. Last year, we put puking pastilles in the food that went to Slytherin's table. It was pretty funny to see everyone all of a sudden put a hand over their mouths and then lean over to hurl.

"Oh yeah. That was brilliant. We have to another one like that." Sirius exclaimed, grinning. I nodded my head.

"Of course! It's a yearly tradition!" I chuckled. Sirius took off his luggage on the cart as I did the same. We heaved them on the train and onto the very last compartment. Inside was Moony and Peter. I smiled as I shoved the luggage above Moony's head.

"I hear there's a new teacher this year." Moony said, leaning back.

"For what subject?" Sirius asked. I shook my head.

"Well, we'll give them hell, won't we?" I grinned and sat down next to Moony. They laughed.

"To answer your question, Padfoot, she is teaching Divination." Peter said to Sirius. I rolled my eyes.

"That has to be the stupidest subject." I groaned. They nodded.

"By far. We should plan our next prank on her. What are we thinking, boys?" Sirius said.

"How about we have one person predict the death of another and then they'll collapse?" Peter suggested. We gave each other an eyebrow.

"An option," Moony nodded his head.

"What about one of us knocks a crystal ball off the table and put some Cockroach Clusters on her desk while she's not looking?" Sirius asked. We all nodded our heads.

"Well, we should put something else on there too. Maybe like licorice snaps?" Moony suggested. We all nodded our heads enthusiastically.

As we talked about possible pranks, the train left the station and was a quarter of the way there.

"Hey, James, I have to ask about this Lily thing. Will it…" Moony asked. He gestured with his hands.

"Oh no, of course not. She's too annoying to be liked. I wouldn't… no." I shook my head a few too many times. "No, of course not. Shut up!" I yelled as they sniggered.

"Alright, whatever you say," Sirius said, holding up his hands in defense. I sighed.

"Hey, look the food cart is here." Wormtail smiled and licked his lips. I turned my head to see a woman knocking on the glass of the door. Sirius got up and slid the door to the side.

"Hi, dearies. What can I get you?" She smiled and gestured to the cart. Sirius pulled out a sickle and gave it to her. He grabbed a few chocolate frogs and sat down.

"Anyone else?" She asked. Moony gave her a few knuts and asked for some Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I gave her a sickle and grabbed some Pumpkin Juice.

"I never get to have these at home." I said, holding up the bottle as the woman walked away. Moony popped in a Bean and swallowed. He scowled and shook his head.

"Which one?" Sirius asked, chuckling.

"Cockroach," He choked.

We all doubled over from laughter and Sirius fell off the seat. Moony set the pack of beans next to him and laughed a little. Then, we all went around and tried different flavors. I got toilet water at some point and Peter got rat dung once.

"Moony, real quick check if anyone is outside the door." Sirius whispered all of a sudden. Moony got up and peered out the door. He sat back down and nodded.

"Okay we need to talk about… " He whispered, looking at each of us. "when we're you know…"

"Moons? Wolves? Animals?" Peter asked. Sirius hit him.

"Shut up! Someone might hear you, idiot!" He whispered yelled. "Listen, Moony, we're sorry we didn't join you that last time. You know that we had to sneak into Professor McGonagall's office to get those items for the potion."

"Ah that's okay. I know that to help me, you guys have to not help me at times." He smiled. I nodded my head. "But there is one thing that happened…" He trailed off.

"What? Who found out? Did you wreck anything?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Lily stayed up that night for some reason and heard me. She looked out the window and…"

"Bloody Hell, Lupin! Do you realize what she's going to do?" Sirius almost yelled. Moony shook his head and looked down.

"I'm sorry, I know she's going to tell someone else." He put his hands on his forehead.

"We should've been there! I don't know why we had to go to McGonagall's office!" Sirius ran his fingers through his hair.

"The reason we were in there was because we needed to make the potion that would calm Moony down! Sirius, relax! She's not going to tell anybody." I threw my arms up in the air.

"You don't realize that I'm just looking out for him! Do you know who's noticing us, James? Snape! I can tell! He's been asking where I go with you guys around the full moon! He knows, Moony! I didn't want to tell you this because…"

"I get it! I get it." He sighed and leaned back in the seat. He put his arms over his head.

"I-I'm sorry guys. You've sacrificed everything to keep my secret and… I-" He was cut off my someone opening the door.

"We'll be at Hogwarts very soon. Change into robes now." A prefect said, peeking his head in. He closed the door and walked off to the next cart.

We changed into our robes in silence until we got to Hogwarts. We all tried to talk about classes but it wasn't our usual talk.

Then, I noticed the red hair in front of me. I smiled and, as Peter talked to me, I thought about the red haired girl. Nothing had changed from last year except that she was linking arms with a couple of girls. Gryffindor girls I had seen at the dance.


	12. Chapter 12

Year 6

Lily

I had heard everything.

I had heard that I wasn't trustworthy. I had heard Remus' regret of telling me his secret. And I had heard that they transform into animals every month.

I realized I didn't need to help him anymore. He didn't need my help in the first place. Why had he said yes? Was he just afraid I would tell everyone if he said?

"Hey, Lily. Hurry up!" Tanya called. I was smushed between Clover and Rose, walking to the carriages that would take us to the castle. They were talking about their summer. Clover figured out how to do some charms and Rose had become better at Quidditch. She wanted to try out for Keeper.

I ran ahead to Tanya and Alice to talk with them. They were having a conversation about Sirius, oddly.

"No, he's awful. He's so mean and he just loves to disrupt the class." Alice squeaked.

"I find him… amazing. He's so funny and he's nice to me and he's kind of… cute, I guess." Tanya blushed a little. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Cut it out, Tanya. It's clearly obvious you have eyes for him." Alice crossed her arms.

"Well, at least I have someone to look at. All you have is-"

"Okay! Let's talk about something other than boys." I said, cutting her off. I didn't know how long they had been talking but I knew Tanya could get nasty. They both sighed.

"You guys excited for Quidditch this year?" Rose had come up behind us and scared the living daylights out of us.

"Yeah, I am. Gryffindor is supposed to be pretty good this year!" I exclaimed. Alice perked up a little.

"Oh, yeah. I'm excited. The beaters are supposed to be amazing this year." Alice smiled.

We walked up to the carriages with the invisible creatures pulling them. I never figured out what they actually looked like. I heard a rumour that you had to see death to see the creatures. I didn't really want to know.

I hopped on to the carriage with the girls. We rode in silence as we thought about certain things. I was still thinking about Sirius and Remus.

Then, I realized that they had those nicknames because of their animals. I was so blind and idiotic. I slapped my palm to my forehead.

"What?" Clover asked. All the girls turned to me. I looked up and stared at all of them.

"Nothing, why?" I lied. They shrugged and looked in different directions.

"Hey, look there's James." Rose whispered in my ear. I whipped my head to see the cart behind us held the group. I sighed.

"God, he can never get away from me can he?" I said, shaking my head and turning to face them. The girls giggled.

"Actually, I think it's the opposite." A voice called. I looked at James' cart again to see him grinning. I rolled my eyes.

"You wish!" I called back. The boys laughed.

"How about you leave her alone? Or are you just so attached to her you have that you will do anything to be around her?" Tanya yelled. The boys grew silent as they watched James swallow. He blushed a little.

"Shut up!" He said and turned away. I laughed with the girls and watched as the gave us a stare of annoyance.

"You aren't going to believe what just happened." Tanya ran up to me and grabbed my arm as we were walking back to the common room after a delicious feast. She squealed and pulled on it.

"What? Tell me!" I said, smiling. She grinned broadly and leaned into my ear.

"Sirius just told me to meet him in one of the stairwells. Later on tonight." She whispered. I covered my mouth to hide my shock. Then, I put it down and squeezed her arm.

"What?! How?!" I almost yelled. She covered my mouth and looked around.

"Shhhhhh! I tell you once we're in the common room." Tanya said. She grabbed my hand and ran in front of the group. She was one of the first to reach the portrait.

"What's the password?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"It's Griffin's wings." A voice called. We turned around to see a tall, thin boy. I saw a Head Boy badge on his chest. He was leading a group of first years who all looked extremely frightened. He smiled and walked up to us.

"Thanks." Tanya said, spinning around. I stared at the boy a little more. He had blue eyes and brown hair. Basic features but beautiful ones. He looked almost like a model that didn't know he was handsome. He waited as Tanya called out the password.

"C'mon, let's go!" Tanya whined as she pulled me into the common room. I shrugged my shoulders at the boy and followed her.

"Okay, go get your nightgown on and meet me out here in 10 minutes." She smiled and sprinted up the stairs to get ready. I sighed and followed her slowly.

I ran up the stairs and into my room. I put on my night gown and waited until I didn't hear anybody in the common room. I sprinted back down and to the nook by the window. I sighed and looked out the window at the forest and moon. I immediately thought of Remus which

"What do you think?" I turned my head around and saw Tanya in a black skirt and a shirt that was red. My jaw dropped as I saw she straightened her hair and put on heavy makeup. I shook my head and smiled.

"Wow… just wow…." I said.

"I know right?" She giggled. I shook my head and laughed. Tanya was a lot.

"Now, go, he's probably expecting you. Good luck," I held up a two thumbs. She smiled and spun around.

"I'll be back soon." She laughed and walked out of the room. I sighed and shook my head in disgust.

I knew Sirius wasn't going to meet her there. I just knew it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Before you read I want to thank everybody who's following me a big thank you. I never thought that when I posted it how much people would give me such positive feedback. Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites I've gotten. Okay, this chapter is going to be a big one. Read carefully. :)**

Year 6

James

"Lily, is that you?" I asked. I couldn't sleep that night. I went down to the common room where Lily was huddled on the couch that was by the fire. I tiptoed down. She was staring into the fire.

"James! Hi, you scared me." She grinned a little and went back to staring at the fire.

"You okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She shuddered and sighed.

"Kind of."

"Tell me." I said, trying to move closer to her.

"Well, Sirius scheduled a date with Tanya. You know that loud one with long black hair?" She said, sniffing. I nodded. "Well, I'm afraid she'll be stood up by him." She leaned her head towards me and weakly smiled.

"Don't be. C'mon, let's go back up. Aren't you tired?"

"Aren't you tired?" She asked. I shook my head. I moved even closer to her. In response she moved towards me. I felt my heartbeat quickening.

"Let's just stay up. Let's just stay up together. Can we…" She was whispering because we were so close to each other. I touched foreheads with her. She was huddled in a ball while I had my feet on the ground.

"We can do anything you want." I whispered back. She put a hand on my cheek and smiled.

"James…" She trailed off. I shook my head slowly and swallowed. I leaned in and my lips parted. She leaned in more and made it forceful. She put her hand on the back of my neck. I felt her lips on mine.

I broke off and smiled. I laughed softly and shook my head.

"What?" She asked. I laughed a little more.

"I just… can't believe it. First night here and I'm already staying up late with… with you." I stumbled over the words.

She smiled and leaned in again.

I couldn't believe all my life I had gone without Lily. I felt in this moment that she was all I needed. I felt like an emptiness had been filled as she kissed me.

Then, I fell off the couch. I fell on back because she had pushed me a little too hard. I laughed and she gasped.

"James! Are you okay?" She gasped. I nodded.

"Of course, I am. I just fell literally 2 feet." I pushed myself up and stood up. She smiled and stood up with me.

"Yes, how silly of me." She put her face right in mine. I smiled as she put her arms around my neck. I wrapped mine around her waist. "You know, we have to go to bed soon. We've got classes tomorrow." She whispered.

"Lily, frankly, I don't care about classes tomorrow." I whispered back. She shrugged.

"Well, I don't either. Right now. Other than that, I care." She pulled me a little closer. I chuckled.

She leaned in again and her lips parted. I tightened my hold on her waist. I didn't want to let go of her. Or of this moment.


	14. Chapter 14

Year 6

Lily

I didn't realize how much I needed James until I kissed him. I needed him so badly. I pushed him away for so long and I was pushing away the thing I needed most.

I remember I was having this dream about how James had turned into a stag and charged towards McGonagall. I tried to stop him but I was glued to the floor. I tried to stop James but he collided with her when she became a cat. I had no idea what this dream meant.

Then, in the middle of the night, I felt someone shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw Tanya. I felt a drip of water on my face and realized Tanya was crying. I sat up immediately.

"Tanya! Tanya, calm down." I whispered as she tried to get air to speak. She was cry so hard she kept hiccuping.

"S-S-Sirius… a-a-another…" She sobbed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and she sat on my bed. I rocked her back and forth to try to calm her down.

"Tanya, it's okay… it's okay. What happened?" I asked. She shook her head and looked down. The tears were running down her face like a waterfall.

"S-S-Sirius was t-there with a-a-another girl-l-l-l," and she broke down in sobs again.

"Oh, Tanya… Tanya, shhh. It's okay, it's fine. He was a pig, anyways." I said. She shook her head.

"No, no, no, no you don't un-un-understand!" She yelled out. I shushed her to try to quiet her down before any of the other girls woke up. Too late.

"Tanya? What's going on?" Clover asked, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes. I watched as slowly, all the girls sat up. They looked like zombies rising from the dead. Some were yawning others were rubbing their eyes. I shook my head and put a finger to my lips.

"Tanya?" Rose questioned. Tanya wiped her eyes.

"Go back to sleep, I'm fine. I'm perfectly-"

"Was it Sirius?" Alice asked. I slapped my palm to my forehead.

Tanya broke down in sobs again. All the girls flipped their covers off and ran over to her. They buried her in hugs and love. They all comforted her and told her she shouldn't be sad. She kept bawling.

"Girls, girls, girls go back to bed. I'm fine. It's okay." Tanya said, taking deep breaths. The girls nodded and walked back to their bed's. Some gave her pats on the back as they left. She hugged me and walked back to her bed.

I went back to bed and immediately my thoughts went to James. Did he know? Did he know Sirius did this a lot? What was James doing right now? Was he thinking about earlier?

"Focus," I whispered to myself. I needed to think about my speech to Sirius about Tanya.

Sirius, you need to apologize to Tanya. Why would you just ditch her like that? Why would you set up a date and then leave her hanging? Do you just jump around from girl to girl just to break other hearts?

I fell asleep, reciting my "speech". I had lost track and all I could recite in my head was how I would talk to James tomorrow.

James, I thought. James. I never realized how… how I-

Love was too strong of a word.


	15. Chapter 15

Year 6

James

I opened my eyes. I saw the light trying to squeeze past the curtains. I blinked a few times before I noticed that a blurry figure was running their fingers through their hair. They looked troubled. I sat up and blinked a few more times. I grabbed my glasses and stared at the figure.

It was Sirius. He was shaking his head.

"Sirius?" I yawned. He whipped his head up and stared at me with intent eyes.

"James? James, I need your help." He said.

"Yeah, okay. What happened?" I asked, getting up to start getting dressed.

"I blew my chances with a girl I really like." Sirius said, angrily. I turned to look at him.

"Sirius, you go through hundreds of girls before you put on a new set of underwear." I sighed. He shook his head.

"No, no James you don't understand. I really, really like this girl. I really didn't want to blow my chances until Julia showed up." Sirius moaned. I laughed.

"Julia? You mean-"

"James, we both know she's a psychopath! Honestly, I was waiting in the stairwell and she just found me there. She started getting closer and closer and once Tanya came, Julia just kept…" Sirius shook his head.

"Tanya? That's the girl's name?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Dark-skinned? Long black hair? Defined cheek bones?"

"James, c'mon." Sirius shook his head again and opened his drawer. He pulled out his robes.

"I'm just wondering because she sounds like a friend of Lily's…" I said, trailing off. I smirked, knowing he had just stopped moving and was going to spin me around. Which I predicted right.

"What? Really?" He asked. I nodded my head and pulled out my robes. I threw them on the bed.

"Yeah. I could talk to her about it."

"Oh my, you've got to be joking! Thank you, James! Thank you so much." He hugged me. I patted his back awkwardly.

"Yeah, you know, anything for you. Sheesh, you really like this girl don't you?" I asked, pushing him off me lightly. He let go and grinned.

"You have no idea. She's so… I don't know. There's no words to explain it!" He threw his arms up in the air, still smiling. I chuckled. Then, I paused.

"Wait a second. Did she give you a love potion?" I asked, squinting at him. Sirius' smile fell.

"No. Of course not. James, we make love potions ourselves! I think I know what it is and what happens once you take it." Sirius reassured. I shook my head.

"Alright, whatever you say. Ready to go to Transfiguration?" I asked. Sirius groaned.

"I swear, McGonagall's got it out for me." I laughed.

"She's had it out for you since that day you yelled at her about Lily getting thicker skin." He grinned.

"Well, yeah that's true."

"Okay, partner up. And I don't want James, Sirius, Remus and Peter together. Split up, young men." McGonagall ordered. My eyes immediately darted to Lily whose eyes went to me at the same time. We both chuckled before I walked over to her to sit down next to her.

"Hi." She said, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Hi, Lily. Uh, I wasn't listening at all so could you tell me what we're supposed to do?" I grinned. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Of course. I should've known." She said, sighing. I grabbed my wand and put it on the table. She pointed at a rat in a cage. "We've got to make this into a bird."

I stared wide eyed at the rat.

"That? Into a bird?" I asked.

"Yes, a toucan to be precise." She said, smiling. I groaned. "James, don't worry. It's perfectly easy."

Her smile was so perfect.

"Lily, uh, did anything happen with a girl named… Tanya, last night?" I asked. She paused and stared down at the rat. I waited for her to respond.

"Maybe. Why?" She said. I shook my head.

"Sirius is pretty sad about it."

"Why should he be sad? He was the one who ditched her to be with another girl!" Lily snapped. I put my hands up in defense. She scoffed and put a hand on her forehead. "She's very upset about it."

"Sirius told me that he didn't mean to have that girl there. It was this crazy girl who's obsessed with him. When Tanya came, that girl just… tried to claim Sirius." I said, shrugging. She sighed.

"Is that it? She came back to the dormitory, bawling. She woke me up to tell me." Lily said. I nodded.

"That is 100% the facts. If you want any other information, just… go talk to Sirius." I said. Lily cast a spell on the rat which made it grow a beak. I flinched and watched it run around, trying to somehow pull it off.

"Listen, I'm just trying to help my friend out."

"So am I. So tell Sirius she doesn't want to see him unless he formally apologizes." I nodded my head.

"Okay, sounds fair. I get it."

She cast another spell which made the rat sprout wings. The rat looked around at it's body and squawked out of shock. Lily and I laughed.

"Aww, the poor thing. Hold on." She said in between laughs. I pushed her hand away.

"Let me try." I said, preparing to cast the spell Lily did. Once I did, the rat grew feathers all around it's body. "Now it just needs the feet and formation of a bird. I've got that part."

"Uh, no you don't. You almost said the spell wrong!" Lily exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"You've done most of it Lily, let me try!"

"Fine, we'll split the spell." Lily flipped her hair over her shoulder to prepare.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'll say it once and it'll have feet and then you'll say it and it will be a bird." Lily explained. She waved her wand and cast the spell which gave the soon-to-be bird legs. I repeated this and it turned into a bird.

"Ah, nice work, Potter and Evans." McGonagall observed, as she walked by our desk. I grinned at her and I saw her wink at me and smile. I was shocked that she actually showed approval of me. Even though she went softer on me, she never actually smiled at me.

"Okay, class dismissed! Remember to write your 4 page paper on the Transfiguration of a human to an animal!" McGonagall called over the noise of us getting out of the classroom. I walked out only to see Sirius running up to Tanya. I groaned.


	16. Chapter 16

Year 6

Lily

"James, look." I whispered, pointing through the books. He came close to my shoulder and peered over at where I was pointing. He sighed and smiled a little.

"Ah, good for him. He actually found someone." James turns his head to look at me. I nod. I look back at the table that had Sirius and Tanya were "studying". I heard Tanya giggle and Sirius point at something in the book. He said something to her and she snorted. She covered her nose but he shook his head, as if to say he didn't mind.

"Awww, James! Look at them. They're really cute. I didn't know Sirius had this side to him." I whispered. James shrugged.

"I didn't know either."

"What? Surely, you must've!" I cried. I saw people looking over at us. I felt the librarian burning holes into my back with her stare. I put my head down.

"Well, he wasn't the most gentleman-like man to girls." James whispered in my ear. "He would ditch, cheat, lie… you get it." I nodded.

"C'mon, let's go back to the common room to get dressed for Hogsmeade. I'm extremely excited for this trip." I whispered as we walked out. Once we were out, he grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine. We started walking.

"Why so?" He asked, mysteriously. I shrugged, smiling.

"Well, we're going together." He grinned.

"That's true. Don't forget your money." He said. He said the password and walked through the portrait hole. I followed him in, still holding his hand.

"Oh, I thought you were going to pay for me." I teased. He gave me a look that asked if I was mad.

"I may be a good boyfriend, but I'm not that good." He joked. I laughed and went up to my dormitory to change as fast as I could.

"Lily, look at this." James held out a handful of licorice snaps. They were all moving around and squirming like tadpoles. I cocked my head at them.

"They're so… weird." I said.

"OW!" James yelled as two jumped up to bite down. He dropped them into the barrel and shook his hand. I laughed as he sucked on a small cut on his thumb.

"Aw, you little baby. Are you okay?" I mocked. He scowled at me.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern." James said, sarcastically. I laughed and linked arms with him. He had his hand in his pocket as I wrapped my arm around his.

"Want to go to the Three Broomsticks?" He asked. I nodded as I looked around Honeydukes. There were many third years oozing over all the candy. James led me outside into the cold. I shivered as we walked.

"Lily, look." James whispered into my ear. I turned my head to see Sirius giving Tanya a chocolate frog. She looked at the card inside a squealed. I gave a confused look to James.

"Probably gave her his most rare card. She needed it to complete her collection." James muttered. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Two months and they're already in love." I mumbled. James whipped his head around.

"They can't be in love! At 16? And in two months?" He exclaimed. We walked past them. I gave him a questioning look.

"Of course they can! It may be a little quick but if they were made for each other then-"

"I get it." James cut me off. I could see he was strangely jealous. I snuggled up to him. He smiled a little.

"C'mon, let's go. I'm in the mood for butterbeer." I said. James nodded his head in agreement.

When we walked in, we heard the noise of Hogwarts students talking loudly. I felt instantly warm and took off my gloves. James sighed. He put his hands up to his mouth and blew into them, warming them up. He looked at me and then laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"Your nose is a bright pink. It's pretty funny. You look like Rudolph." He stated. I covered it and blushed. He smiled.

"Don't cover it. You're fine. Look, there's a spot over there." James pointed to a table in the corner and out of the way of the other students. I smiled and nodded. He couldn't have picked a better spot.

We sat down and took off some of our layers. James rubbed his hands together again and raised his hand once he saw a waitress. She came over and said, "Two butterbeers?" We both nodded.

"Alright, give me a second. There's a load of students who just love to waste my time. If it takes too long, don't blame me." She winked and scurried away.

There was a silence. James drummed the table with his hands. I tucked my hair behind my ear.

"So, how are your classes going?" He asked. I smiled, thankful for the conversation.

"Good. Good. I'm doing Alchemy which is very interesting. What about you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"You know, nothing special. Not failing any so that's good." He smiled. There was a silence until a question popped into my head.

"Would you ever expect this to happen?" I asked. James looked at me. He cocked his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, could you ever imagine us being together? Don't you believe we're from opposite worlds?" I asked.

"Um, I guess. Yeah. You study and I play Quidditch and hang out with cool kids and…"

"James, be reasonable." I said, rolling my eyes. He shrugged. "Honestly, though. We used to hate each other. Don't you remember that fight?"

"Yeah, the one between Snape and Sirius. Hey, whatever happened to Snape?" He asked. I paused.

Snape had disappeared. I hadn't seen him in a very long time. I stopped hanging around him because he wouldn't talk. I used to have a crush on him and gave him many hints that I did. He didn't get it though. I shook my head.

"He's… I'm not really talking to him much. He's just... " I trailed off. "Anyways, back to the point. Wait, did you just try to change the subject so I won't mention the-"

"Yes, don't say it. You have no idea how sorry I am. I just don't like bringing it up." He sighed and looked down. I grabbed his hand.

"Well, clearly, I have forgiven you." I said, reassuringly. He smiled at me.


	17. Chapter 17

Year 6

James

Lily had become a priority for me. After class, I would go to the common room, wait for Lily, and then start talking with her. If I didn't see her that day, she would somehow find me.

The best part was that we really didn't need to talk. We just enjoyed each other's presence. Sometimes I would sit by the fire on the couch and she would just sit down and cuddle up to me. We would just stare at the fire and sometimes say something about our day. But mostly, we would be silent.

One day, I was walking through the halls and all of a sudden a figure jumped onto my back. I screamed and almost pushed the person off until I realized it was Lily. She was giggling uncontrollably and gave me a noogie. It was like she was one of my pals. Everyone in the hallway was staring but I didn't mind.

Another day, she was on the couch reading so I decided to scare her. I crept up on her and leaned in by her head. I whispered a spell which conjured a gnome which jumped up and onto her head. She shrieked and threw the gnome off her head. I laughed and laughed as she turned around to face me. I knew I was in trouble so I ran away but that didn't matter. She yelled a spell which prevented me from running. I turned around and saw the gnome in front of me. I screamed.

Lily always won in everything except for Quidditch.

"James! James, where have you been?" Remus ran up to me in the hallway as I was thinking about Lily one day.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Have you not been keeping track? The full moon… " Moony looked around to make sure no one was listening. Then, he dragged me into a closet and slammed the door.

"It's almost the full moon! I've been scared because you are the only who hasn't said anything!" Remus was very close to my face. Too close for comfort. I backed away.

"Moony, calm down. I have been keeping track. I have just been busy." I sighed as did Remus. I shook my head and pushed him to the side. Remus blocked me, though.

"James, promise me you won't forget. I like Lily, too but you can't let her distract you. You don't realize how much I need you guys." Remus gave me his puppy eyes that I seemed to fall for. I nodded my head.

"I promise."

Later on, I found Lily in the common room, reading. She was curled up on the couch in front of the fire. I came up behind her and kissed her forehead. She jumped a little but then realized it was me. I walked around the couch and sat next to her. She immediately leaned against me.

"Hi, James." She said. Outside the window, the sun was setting and the sky was pink and yellow, mixing together. I smiled and put arm around Lily. She cuddled up to me a little more.

"Hello, Lily." I sighed. She could tell something was up. She put down her book.

"What's going on?" She asked. I shrugged a little. She looked up at me.

"Moony just told me I needed to not let you distract me from…" I trailed off. i hesitated telling her about Moony.

"From the full moon? I know, James." Lily stated.

"I know you know." I said and she giggled. I kissed the top of her head again.

"James, I love that you're spending time with me. Honestly. But your friends still need you. Just remember that." There was a silence as I processed that.

"I will, I will." I felt like I should've said something that I've wanted to for the longest time. I didn't though. I just laid there with Lily. And that was how we always did it.


	18. Chapter 18

Year 6

Lily

"Lily, I think I'm in love."

I looked up from my book and stared at Tanya. I hadn't processed it fully yet. I saw her smile so wide, it almost looked like her face would split in two. I put my book down, not breaking eye contact.

"What?" I felt my insides churn as she nodded her head.

"I'm in love, Lily."

"How do you know?" I asked, almost wanting to clutch my stomach.

"I just know! It feels like I should see him everyday and I should just be around him all the time. I feel that… I love Sirius." Tanya looked out the window and sighed. "It feels so good to say that!"

I shook my head, feeling as though someone just shot my stomach. "Well, that's great. I'm so happy you've found love." I leaned over and smiled weakly.

"Thank you! I think I'm going to tell Sirius that! Bye, Lily!" She stood up and literally skipped away. I goggled as she giggled and skipped out of sight.

"Something's up…" I muttered under my breath. I picked up my book again. As I read, I realized why I had all these pains in my stomach. It was because I was completely and utterly jealous. I felt as though I was going to burst and fire was going to explode everywhere. I laughed at my imagination. Fire exploding! Then, I returned back to the problem at hand.

I wanted to have the courage Tanya had. I had the same feelings but what about James?

If I told him, the weight would be lifted off of my chest but I would be hurt if he didn't say the same. If I didn't, I would keep this thing I wanted to say bottled up inside of me but our relationship would be safe.

I kept reading except not processing the words. I realized this was a waste of my time so I put the book down and walked out of the library.

As I walked to the common room, I saw Tanya and Sirius on a bench. They were in a garden that was in the castle. I glanced at them and saw Sirius grin at her. Then, I saw Tanya's eyes widen and threw her arms around Sirius' neck.

I trudged forward, almost green with envy. I wanted that courage so badly. I wanted to just go forward and split them apart from each other's grasps. I wanted to just point a finger at both of them and say "This is too bloody fast."

I snapped at the portrait to open up and she obliged. I stormed through and saw James walking down the steps of the common room. He looked at me with interest.

I marched forward and looked at him, scowling.

"Lily, is everything alright?" He asked, putting his hands on my shoulder. I sighed and let the anger and jealousy out of me. I realized, once I was around him, I could instantly feel better. I wrapped my arms around him and put my head to his chest.

James wrapped his arms around me and patted my back.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be fine." He reassured. I smiled slightly and hugged him tighter.

"James, can we go to the astronomy tower?" I asked. James pulled back and looked at me. I brought my head up to smiled at him. He kissed my forehead, like he always did.

"Of course." His hands traveled down to mine. I grinned and pulled him towards the door. On the way out, we bumped into Tanya and Sirius, who were outside of the common room, making out. James coughed and they noticed us. Sirius grinned and put his arm around Tanya's shoulders.

"Hey, James! What's shakin'?" Sirius asked. Tanya giggled and Sirius pulled her closer.

"Uh, hey Sirius. We've got to go but I will definitely talk to you about this." James said, quite seriously. I squeezed his hand as if to say, let's get going. He looked at Sirius for one more moment before walking away with me.

Once we got to the Astronomy Tower, he laid down and brought me down with him. I collapsed accidently and fell down next to him. He laughed and grabbed my hand again. He squeezed it.

"James." I said, sighing. I looked up at the stars. The moon was very pretty. "James…" I couldn't say it. I felt as if something was lodged in my throat. Why could I get out the one thing I've been dreaming to say to him.

"Lily, I love you too." He said. I felt my heart skip a beat. We had known each other so well that he knew what I was going to say.

I turned to him, eyes wide with excitement. He laughed and put a hand on my cheek.

"I will always love you." I said, barely getting out the words. He put his arms around my waist and brought me closer to him. He kissed my lips so softly.

"I will too." He barely said. I touched my forehead to his. We both smiled.

And life was going perfectly fine for a minute.


	19. Chapter 19

Year 6

James

I grabbed my invisibility cloak, my perfect weapon. I tiptoed out of the common room, in the dead of night. I saw Peter at the portrait hole, picking at his nails. I snuck up on him, invisible, and poked him in the side. He jumped up and took a step back.

"James?" He whispered. I silently laughed and pulled the cloak off. Peter shoved me playfully.

"Don't do that!" He said. I ran up to him and covered his mouth.

"C'mon, let's go." I said, draping the cloak over him. He pulled it over him so it covered both of us completely. We walked out of the portrait hole and into the corridors.

"Hey, James, where's Sirius? He was supposed to meet us down there." Peter whispered. I had realized that and just shook my head.

"He will come. He… you know him, he's a lone wolf. Sometimes." I said. Peter nodded as we walked towards my favorite passage way out of the castle. It led straight to Hogsmeade, underneath the Honeydukes shop. It was behind a one eyed witch statue.

Peter pointed the way, even though I knew exactly where it was. I grabbed his hand and put it down.

"I know where to go. I always have it memorized." I snapped. He looked at me and turned away, rolling his eyes. I marched over to the statue and whispered the spell to open it. It slid open slightly and Peter and I slipped through.

"Are you ready to be a deer once again?" Peter asked. I smirked a little.

"Course! You ready to be a rat? Oh, wait, I think you're already a rat!" I chuckled a little as Peter gave me a stone face.

"Hardy har har. That was hilarious." Peter stomped on my foot. Very hard.

"Ah! Bloody Hell, Peter!" I hopped on one foot, slowing us down. I wanted to him punch right in the nose. I started limping and trying to run faster. It felt as though someone had someone stabbed my foot.

Peter had a evilish grin, oddly. I kept running, trying to get to Remus soon enough.

Once we reached Honeydukes, we sprinted down to the shack. Some people had started calling it the Shrieking Shack, because of Remus. We started calling it that because we thought it sounded cool and no one would come near the place. Peter and I were both sweaty from running down the passageway.

We climbed through the open window which we kept for us. There was also the other passageway by the whomping willow but this way was always easier. Remus and I have discussed how we should use that way more because no one could get through except for us.

Once we got in, we tore off the cloak.

We saw Remus standing in the room, rubbing his hands together. He seemed nervous.

"Where's Sirius?" I asked. Remus looked into my eyes. He shook his head. I felt my heart sink. Remus pointed out the window and we peered through. Sirius was laying on the grass with…

"Oh my Lord, Tanya? Are you kidding me?" Peter exclaimed. I shook my head in disgust.

"Guys, guys I-" We turned around and saw Remus on the floor on all fours. We then quickly made ourselves into the animals we are supposed to be. I glanced to see Peter scurry away. Then, I looked at Remus who was jumping through the window. I had to stop this.

I hopped through and watched in fright as Remus ran towards Sirius. I tried yelling out but I could only make stag noises. I ran faster towards them. I approached and stood in front of them. They sat up and looked at me, confused. I was jumping up and down, yelling at them to move.

I saw Remus then jump on top of Tanya.

Sirius screamed and scrambled to get away. I poked the giant, out of control, werewolf with my antlers. He pawed them away, whipping my head to the side. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a black dog. He was sprinting towards Remus as he ripped at Tanya's skin. I noticed it was Sirius.

Sirius jumped on top of the werewolf, digging his teeth into his hairy back. Remus roared and tried to get Sirius off of him. I watched in horror as Remus clawed the black dog off of him. I tried to get Tanya but Remus growled at me. I backed off.

Remus was calming down. He was breathing heavily as he pulled Tanya closer to him. I tried to slowly lead him back to the shack but he growled once again at me. Sirius came up next to me.

I glanced at Tanya who wasn't moving. At first it looked like she was unconscious but I noticed she wasn't breathing. I could tell Sirius had noticed it too, because he started to whimper. I saw Remus snort and dart off, on all fours.

I changed back and kneeled down by Tanya. Sirius came up next to me, human as well. I stared at his face, which didn't move at all. It was a stone face. I shook Tanya.

"Tanya? Wake up," I said. Sirius crossed his arms, not showing any emotion.

"James, let's go." Sirius said.

"What?! Sirius we can't just leave her here. She's unconscious!" I exclaimed.

"James, she's not alive and you know that!" Sirius snapped. I shook my head and grabbed her shoulders.

"No, no, Sirius we can save her. C'mon-"

"Cut the bullshit, James! Just leave her here." Sirius started walking away.

"Sirius, I'm not the one who's supposedly 'in love' with her!" I yelled. Sirius turned around slowly.

"Yeah, I was the one, James. Thanks for stating the obvious." He shook his head and walked off, head looking down.

I looked back at Tanya and sighed. The blood around her dried and her body laid slumped against a rock. I saw the huge gash Remus made on her chest. How was I to tell Dumbledore? What was I going to do?

All I could think of was to carry her body somewhere no one would know. I had to keep her hidden. For now.


	20. Chapter 20

Lily

Year 6

"Lily, we need to talk. Now." James whispered in my ear. I turned to nod at him but he yanked me into a broom closet that was right by the hall.

"James, everything ok?" I asked. I was concerned he had done something. It wasn't unusual for him to get in trouble and when he did, it didn't affect him. There was one time he had gotten 200 points taken from Gryffindor with his buddies (50 points from EACH member of his group). They walked out of the classroom, silent at first, then started running down the halls. I remember it from my fourth year.

"No, nothing is fine." I saw the bags underneath his eyes. It looked as though he drank as much coffee as he could that morning but didn't get any sleep the night before.

"Well, what happened?"

"Tanya's dead." He burst out. I stared at him, in shock.

"What? How do you know? How? Why?" I asked. I felt as though I was going to explode with questions. He covered my mouth and shook my head.

"Not here. We can't talk here. All I can say is that we're going to meet in that empty classroom at midnight tonight. Meet me in the common room around that time." He took his hand off my mouth and opened the door, blinding me. I covered my eyes as he dashed out. I stepped out, trying to look for him and rubbing my eyes. I couldn't find him.

The entire day, I worried so much that I began shaking in Charms. How could she die? Why? Who would do such a thing? I felt as though I could just kill the person who killed Tanya.

As soon as dinner was over, I ran up to my room and started to cry. Tanya wa the one person I could tell my problems too. She would understand when James would get into his egotistical moods. She would know exactly what to do when I told her I was having issues.

Granted, she was a little loud and I was jealous when she told me she was in love before me. But I loved her obnoxiousness and her ability to talk to anyone with no fear.

I wanted Tanya back.

I flopped down on my bed and pushed the pillow against my face. I felt it getting wet very quickly from my tears.

"Lily?" I heard a squeaky voice call. I turned around to see Alice in the doorway. She looked at me with pity.

"What happened?" She asked, coming over to me. I sat up and wiped my eyes. I should lock the door next time.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I'm okay." I said, my voice shaking. Alice sat down next to me on the bed.

"Lily, please tell me." She pleaded. I sighed.

"Alice, I don't know if I can." James did seem very secretive about this and I didn't want to betray his trust.

"Alright… alright, that's ok." She said. I put my arm around her, hugging her at an angle.

"Thanks for caring about me." I smiled and she smiled back.

"Well, you're my best friend, Lily." She put her arm around me and squeezed. I swallowed. Tanya was my best friend…

"You are too, Alice." I rested my head on hers because she was so short. She moved her hand to mine and grabbed it.

After everyone went to bed, I finally snuck out of the dormitory. some of the girls had been asking where Tanya was. I just shrugged and walked away when they would.

"Hey," James whispered. I tiptoed down the stairs and approached him.

"Hi," I whispered back, giving him a kiss on the nose. He smiled weakly then put his arm around me. I looked down at my feet and saw that my body was gone. Legs, feet, stomach, you name it. if it was under my head it was gone.

"James! What-?" I whispered yelled but he cut me off.

"It's an invisibility cloak. Now, c'mon let's hurry. Before someone catches us." He put the cloak over my head and we walked out of the common room. The portrait lady wasn't that stunned when we walked out, invisible.

"Ah, just that invisible ghost again," She yawned. I giggled a little but James covered my mouth quickly. Then, he put a finger to his lips. I nodded and he took his hand off.

We walked down the corridors and through different passageways that I had never seen before. It seemed as though James knew this castle inside and out, which was useful knowledge for the future.

We drew near a giant, wooden door that had rusted hinges. As James pulled on the door, I flinched from the noise. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, except projected louder than ever.

We walked through and he closed the door slowly behind us. I threw off the cloak to take a look at the magnificent room.

One wall, that was directly in front of me when I walked in, was lined with windows that looked over the lake. On the other two, there were columns that held up the ceiling. I looked back at James.

"Lily, we need to talk." He said, seriously. He threw off the cloak and set it on the floor. I nodded my head.

"Just… We should sit down. It's a lot I have to tell you." He sat down cross legged and I did too.

"Okay, let me… Before you say anything critical, let me state what happened to Tanya."

And so he did. I listened as he told me not to get mad at Remus and to not talk about it with Sirius. I was silent the entire time until he threw his arms in the air, signaling that I could talk.

"Was there any motive for Moony to attack?" I asked. "It couldn't have been just blind attacking."

"Well… Sirius did forget to come when we… You know." He sighed.

"Was this because of Tanya?" James nodded.

"I just felt that Remus wouldn't attack her. And somehow, I feel that it was… partially my fault. I could've stopped him. I could've bordered up that window… I could've fought. I could've done so much more." He sighed. I saw the sorrow in his eyes. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"James, stop. You had nothing to do with it, from what it seems like." He weakly smiled.

"You always seem to know what to say, Lily." He stated. I put my hand on his cheek and smiled at him.

"I always know what to say when I'm with you. The words just seem to perfectly fit, don't they?" I leaned forward and gave him a peck on his lips. He grabbed the back of my neck, deepening the kiss. I laughed in between kisses, surprised. James pulled back. He started laughing too.

I put my forehead on his, just like that night on the astronomy tower. I put my hand around his neck, like he did on mine. I pushed my lips against his, making the space between us disappear. His lips seemed so… Dry and lifeless. I pulled back again.

"James, are you sure you're okay?" I asked. "You seem really tired and just stressed. He sighed and put his hands in his lap.

"Lily, I don't know what I'm going to do." His voice started shaking. I felt such a force of pity for him. He had experienced something he shouldn't have been. "Lily, please help me."

I saw his eyes watering up. As soon as he was going to cry, I knew I was going too. And I wasn't going to stop that.

I saw one tear stream down his cheek. I wiped it off with my thumb. My vision became blurry from my tears.

"J-James, I don't know either." I felt my voice shaking. He shook his head and sniffles.

"At least I'm not alone." He smiled weakly as more tears poured from his eyes.

"No, you're never alone James because I will…" I choked up. I took a deep breath and continued. "I will always love you."

"And I will too." He wiped my tears with his hands. I chuckled a little, thanking him in a way. He nodded his hands and cupped my face in his hands.

Honestly, I don't remember what happened next. I just remember staring at the fireplace while resting my head on something. I think it was James. Or it could've been my hand. I just don't remember anything because I fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Year 6

James

I blinked open my eyes to see the sunlight peering through the windows. I propped myself up with my elbows and rubbed my eyes. I looked around the room to see where I was because I forgot. Then, I came to realize that I was in empty classroom. I looked down at my chest and saw Lily sleeping there.

"Lily?" I whispered. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked at me. She grinned at me.

"Morning, James." She pushed herself off of me.

"Good morning… do you know they time?" I asked yawning. She shook her head and sat up.

"No, but all I know is that… it's Thursday!" She gasped and scrambled to get up.

"What?" I asked, getting up as well. Her hair was all ruffled and she was still in her pajamas. I looked down to see I was in my pj's as well. I looked around for my invisibility cloak.

"Here, let's go! We're going to be late!" Lily threw the cloak to me and opened the monstrous, creaking door. I caught it and ran after her.

We started sprinting up to the Gryffindor common room and to get our robes. I watched as Lily's red hair swayed behind her and the wind rushing on her baggy pajama pants. It was oddly pretty.

When we got to the common room we split up into our dormitories. I noticed there was no body in there. I quickly changed and ran to breakfast. As I ran out, Lily joined me and shoved me while sprinting.

"What?" I yelled out to her, trying to ask her while she ran ahead.

"You didn't wait for me!" She shouted back. She turned her head around and darted away, teasing me. I shook my head and smiled to myself. Typical Lily.

We got to our table and my eyes immediately went to Sirius, Peter, and Remus. Remus wasn't eating anything. He was just sipping coffee. I sat down next to him and Lily sat across from me, next to Sirius.

There was a silence as Remus looked at me and Lily. He sighed and took another sip. I saw Sirius had bags underneath his eyes, just like me. Then, Lily spoke up.

"So, have you all finished your Divination essays?" I smacked a palm to my forehead. Remus perked up though, clearly happy to talk about something other than that night.

"I have actually. I'm very happy to be on schedule." Remus smiled weakly. Lily nodded her head.

"Same here!"

"Okay, cut the crap. Lily, do you know what happened?" Sirius said, crossing his arms. Lily looked at him, stone face.

"Why?" She asked, looking smug. Sirius took a sip of his tea.

"Just answer my damn question!" He yelled out. The Great Hall went silent and Sirius scowled. We all covered our faces but Remus just got up and walked out. He didn't turn around just walked out of the hall. I sighed. Everyone went back to eating and talking before I spoke.

"Sirius, you need to shut up sometimes." I snapped. Lily looked at me with a look that said 'Cut it out'. I didn't care, though. Remus and him were both going through rough times but they both needed to settle.

"James, you have no idea what either of us are going through!" Sirius tried not to yell as loud this time.

"You're right, I don't. But-"

"No, no shut your mouth. Imagine if Lily died right in front of you while you were with her. Worse part is that one of your best friends did it. I may have a had a fault at making that beast angry, but he shouldn't kill anybody!" Sirius slammed his hands on the table and then stared at the table. Lily looked at me again.

"Sirius he didn't have control!" I stood up and threw my arms up in the air. The Great Hall was silent.

"Follow me." Sirius muttered. He got up and marched out of the hall. I chased him, closely followed by Lily. I didn't care though, because she would stay silent. She knew we had to work it out.

I followed him out of the Hall and outside by the lake. He paused by some trees and turned around. It was a cold, November day and there were no more leaves on the trees.

Then, I saw his arm swing and knock my face to the side. Lily gasped and ran up to me.

"Lily, please…" I said, holding my cheek and standing up straight. She put her hands up in defense.

"Fine, I won't help." She walked off. Although I knew she was going to stay by.

"Sirius, stop. Listen, you just need to calm-" Sirius punched me in the stomach. I doubled over and clutched it. He uppercut me in the face after I stood back up. I grabbed the back of Sirius' neck and clenched. He bent over and started wheezing.

"Sirius, stop this crap. I know you're upset believe me, I am too. Just take it out in a different way. You need to stop and calm down." I softened my grip on his neck and he started standing up. I let go and he flung back.

Then, he sighed and scratched his head.

"Fine, just get away from me. I'm leaving now." And with that he stormed off.


	22. Chapter 22

Year 6

Lily

"Remus?"

I saw him curled in a ball in an empty classroom. Fortunately I was the first to see him (even though he left the door open). He peeked out from his hiding space and looked at me. I closed the door behind me.

"Hi, Lily." He mumbled.

I decided it was best not to say anything for the time being. I just sat down next to him and put my hand on his back. He shivered a little, but then uncurled. I stroked his back, comforting him.

"It's going to be okay, Remus." I said softly. He shook his head.

"No it's not. Things are always going to be different from now on. Sirius will never look at me the same again, James will be permanently scarred for life, and Peter…" He trailed off. "Peter hasn't really been a great deal of help." He sighed and covered his face.

"James will be fine, I know that for sure." I said, patting his shoulder a little awkwardly.

"But what about Sirius?" He snapped. I stayed calm though, despite the fear I felt. "I just killed the… the… his love and now he won't ever…" He trailed off. I was about to say something but then he yelled "I don't even know where Sirius is!" I shook my head at him.

"Calm down, Remus. Don't worry about it right now. Just… focus on something else." I grabbed a book that was in my bag and handed it to him. He opened it and flipped through the pages. The book was _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ He paused at a page about werewolves. All of a sudden I realized that was the worst possible book I could've given him. I snatched it out of his hands.

"Hey, let's go outside! I need some fresh air," I said. It had been a couple days after James and Sirius' fight. Sirius was still missing. I stood up and held out my hand for him to help him up. He took it.

We walked down the corridor, talking about classes and interests. He told me he doesn't really like Quidditch and that he loves reading. He didn't do it since the guys would make fun of him. I smiled and nodded along, agreeing.

" I don't get all the fuss about Quidditch either." I said, pushing open the doors to the grounds. He threw his arms in the air.

"Exactly! It's just people flying around on brooms and trying to chase after balls like dogs!" He exclaimed. I laughed as he tried imitating people flying and chasing. I was happy to actually spend time with him.

Awhile later we started conversing about James and Sirius. It was a serious topic, but Remus had brought it up.

"Well, I was much closer to James than Sirius." He sighed. He stared at the ground as we walked by the lake.

"Why do you say was? They're still you're friends, Remus." I said, picking the petals off a flower I had just picked up.

Remus gave a cold laugh. "Yeah ok. Anyways, James was more egotistical but he cares a little more than Sirius. Don't get me wrong they're both my friends but…" He looked at me. "You know what I mean, right?"

"What? Why would I know?" I asked, confused.

"Well, James is more of an odd choice than Sirius. The girls usually flock to him than any of us. Then again, I don't know if Peter likes girls."

"What? What do you mean?" I tossed the flower and looked at Remus who was smiling to himself.

"Oh, well, he hasn't really dated anyone here." Remus shook his head. "And I caught him one time sneaking off with a kid from Hufflepuff one time. They were holding hands." Remus laughed.

"You think that's funny? He probably just doesn't want to tell you guys because he'll get that exact reaction." I snapped.

"Whoa, calm yourself." Remus stopped and grabbed my shoulders. "I didn't mean to laugh. It's just sad he thinks he can't trust us."

"So you laugh about it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I-I… just nevermind." He sighed and let go of my shoulders. He kept walking and I had to run to keep up with him.

We kept walking in silence until Remus steered us towards the castle. I didn't really want to stop talking to Remus but I didn't want to start again either. I marched towards the castle and once we got to the doors, I stood in front of Remus.

"I had a great time. I'm going to go inside for dinner now but… I'll see you around." I smiled and walked away, leaving Remus.


	23. Chapter 23

James

Year 6

I sat, curled up on the couch in the common room. Everyone was in bed and it was raining hard over the Hogwarts grounds. The fire was blazing and I was covered with a blanket. April was always rainy.

The year had gone by so fast. Lupin started to talk to us a little more and Peter was being oddly secretive. Lily and I were on good terms but everything was very weird. I just felt lonely and I wanted Sirius back.

I had missed him so much. He didn't join me for Christmas like he usually did. He ran away from his home and to mine over summer break. My parents asked where he was once I went home for Christmas. I told them the story of what happened which was probably a horrible idea. They didn't want me hanging around Remus which I completely ignored. Remus wasn't dangerous and didn't mean anything by it.

I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I was exhausted because I hadn't gotten much sleep. I had to just get an hour at least… just an hour…

Just then the portrait hole creaked open and I heard someone walk in. I whipped my head around and got to my knees on the couch. I grabbed my wand once I saw a figure in the hole.

The man had tattered clothes and was covered head to toe in mud. His hair was long and shaggy and he limped into the room. He was barefoot and seemed to be in the clothes that I last saw him in even though they were barely recognizable. I gasped once he walked closer towards the fire.

"Cam down, Prongs. It's only me." A familiar voice came from the muddy man.

"S-Sirius?" I stammered, lowering my wand a little. Sirius grinned. I felt my heart give a leap of joy.

"Listen, before you say anything." He started. "I just have to say something about… you know, what I did." He looked down at his feet. I held my breath. I was expecting an apology.

"I'm sorry. I should not have ran away. It was selfish and stupid and…" He shook his head. "Anyways, my reaction to Tanya dying wasn't the best one I could've given, but you have to understand… Tanya was like… like Lily to you. She was," He took a deep breath.

"And I'm especially sorry for ditching Christmas. I should've come home for that." He nodded his head a little to show his speech was over.

I stood in silence. He had just apologized for everything I wanted him to. He had said the words I needed to hear from him. I wanted to walk over to him but… I felt that my feet were in cement shoes.

"James?" He asked. I finally was able to move my feet to approach him. I put a hand on his shoulder and opened my mouth.

"I missed you, Padfoot." I said, smiling. A smile stretched across Sirius' face and he hugged me.

"Prongs, I'm so sorry." He patted my back very hard. I did the same.

"It's ok, it's fine." I mumbled. We broke apart and he held me at arm's length, almost examining me.

"It's crazy how much someone can change in a few months." He sighed. I laughed.

"Yeah, insanely crazy." I said, looking at his unshaven face. He chuckled.

"I better go clean up… we should catch up about things later." And he sprinted up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Don't wake anybody!" I whispered yelled after him. I smiled to myself and sat back down on the couch. Then, I stood back up. I couldn't sit down, not now. Not when my best friend has returned.

"Sirius!" Lily squealed. She rushed up to him and hugged him tightly. Sirius looked at me as her shoulder dug into his chin. I shrugged. I stayed sitting at the table as she hugged him in the middle of the Great Hall.

"Hi, Li-" He started but Lily broke away from him and gave him an angry look.

"You idiot! You prat! You… you ogre!" She shrieked. "You don't just run away from your best friend like that! Do you know how sad he was?" Students were glancing as Lily yelled at him.

"Lily, stop. I wasn't-"

"While you were out and about, prancing in the forest and playing in the fields, James was here, worrying his ass about you!"

"Lily!" Professor McGonagall screeched. I looked at my plate, grinning. This was going to be good.

"Do you think it's acceptable to swear in the middle of the Hall?!" She was storming from the door. Lily's head didn't go down, though. It stayed up, clearly confident.

"Professor, I was just telling Sirius here-" She glanced at Sirius who was smirking at the floor.

"Sirius? Sirius Black?" She approached them and stared at Sirius' back which was turned to her.

"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?!" She screamed. Kids around us grew silent. His grin vanished. "JUST DECIDED TO LEAVE FOR MONTHS?" She was shaking with fury. Lily had her arms crossed, standing next to McGonagall.

"Come with me." McGonagall muttered after she had calmed down a little. He look like he was going to throw up from nervousness. He turned around and faced her. Her eyes burned with anger. He followed her reluctantly, glancing back at me. I gave him a weak smile as McGonagall disappeared, Sirius in tow.

Lily scowled and sat back down next to me. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"He just thinks he can… can waltz back in here, pretending nothing happened." Lily scoffed and piled some peaches onto her plate.

"Well, I forgave him, Lily. I told you that." I exclaimed, taking a sip of my orange juice. She shot me a look that told me to shut up. I went back to my food.

After a little while, Remus came into the hall, clutching books. He had a smile on his face as he sat across from us.

"Hey mates! I just found these books in the restricted section. I got a note from-" He looked at our faces. Lily was still scowling and I had my eyes focused on my plate.

"What's happened?" He asked. I shook my head. He started fixing himself a bowl of cereal.

"Sirius is back," I mumbled. Remus glanced up as he was pouring the milk into the bowl. He didn't stop when it was full, though. I didn't say anything as it overflowed. Lily grabbed the milk and put it next to her.

"What? H-how?" He stammered. I shrugged. "Where is he?"

"Probably in Dumbledore's office." Lily said, stabbing the rest of the peaches on her fork. She shoved the entire thing in her mouth. I gaped as she chewed slowly.

"Oh… Oh Lord…" He cleaned up the milk with a napkin. She glanced at me and gave me a look that asked what she was doing wrong. I shook my head and grinned a little. That's my girl, shoving huge things of peaches in her mouth.

"Does he still seem…" Remus swallowed. I looked up and gave him a look that let him finish his sentence. "Mad?"

"No, not at all. He seems extremely… happy actually." I grinned at Lupin as he looked as though a giant weight was lifted off of him.

"Remus, don't forget we have prefect duty tonight." Lily said, piling more peaches on her plate.

"Ah, that's fantastic," he groaned. "I have a giant paper for History of Magic and then I have to write another paper for Transfiguration. On top of that, I have to fill out the chart of potions…"

I began to space out and think about what was going to happen to Sirius. Detention? Points from Gryffindor? A pile of homework? The last one seemed most plausible.

Would he return to classes that day? I sighed. I would just have to wait which is one thing I hate doing.


	24. Chapter 24

Year 6

Lily

Sirius returned to class right before lunch. We were in potions and Professor Slughorn was teaching us about liquid luck when he barged into class. Professor Slughorn turned and saw Sirius.

"Ah, Mr. Black, please sit down." He gestured to the class and Sirius smiled weakly. He took the seat next to James and I was sitting across from James. Remus sat next to me.

"What happened?" James whispered as Professor Slughorn paced between tables and talked about the potion.

"Shhh! I'm trying to hear!" I hissed at him. James put his hands up in defense and leaned back in his chair.

"Now, you have time to make this potion on your own." He gestured to a cauldron full of Shrinking Solution. I sighed and thanked God I knew the potions by what they looked like.

"Lily, what did he say? I wasn't listening." James whispered across the table. Remus chuckled as I gave James the stink eye. I shook my head and grabbed the ingredients that were in the middle of the table.

"We have to make that potion." Sirius pointed to the cauldron in the front of the room. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at them.

"That's a Shrinking Solution, idiots." I saw James and Sirius give each other a side glance as I started on my potion.

I started following the directions in my book and put in the ingredients in order. I glanced over at Snape to see what he was doing. We took potions with the Slytherins which was fine with me. Snape was still my friend except he didn't like me hanging out with James and his friends.

He was jotting down things in his school book oddly. I kept staring as he would do things the book didn't tell him and would write them down. His book was tattered and looked beat-up. What was that?

"Lily? Lily? What do we do next?" Sirius exclaimed, snapping his fingers in my face. I sighed and dropped the rat spleen into my cauldron.

"Just… just put in the wormwood…" I sighed and kept looking at Severus. He had chopped the rat spleen but the book said to keep it whole.

"Who you looking at Lily?" James asked, looking into my eyes. I stared back and smiled weakly.

"No one. Nothing. You put the sliced caterpillars in after the wormwood, Sirius." I said, as he gathered the caterpillar parts. He chuckled and put the sliced caterpillar back onto his tray.

"Thanks, Lily." He said.

"Don't expect me to keep helping you two. I think you should ask Remus next time." I gestured to Remus who was next to me. He looked up from his potion and shook his head.

"No way… I-I stink just as much as they d-do." He stammered. He seemed scared that I called him out on being smart.

"Oh shut up. Your potion is great!" I smiled and peered into his cauldron.

"No, no it's awful… what did you say I should do next? Put in the cowbane?" He said, glancing at James and Sirius who were trying to figure out what to do next.

"I didn't say anything about the cowbane but that is the next step…" I stared at Remus. He shook his head at me. "Why are you doing this? You're smart! Don't hide it!" I whispered into his ear.

"Be quiet! I'm trying to just be…"

"Shh, say no more. I've got it." I smiled and went back to my cauldron. I saw Remus out of the corner of my eye smile a little.

"Alright class, you should be almost done with your potions! Once everyone is done we'll test them. I'll put a gnome on your table that is, currently, unconscious. You will put them in and once they come out, they should look very tiny." Professor Slughorn smiled.

"Lily, what's the final ingredient? I'm not done!" James whispered as Slughorn passed out trays with unconscious gnomes. I sighed.

"Put in minced daisy roots." I whispered back and James nodded. He dropped them in and stood silently as Professor came around.

"Ah, looks perfect, Ms. Evans." Professor Slughorn grinned and set the tray down carefully. "And it seems you gave a few pointers to, uh, Mr., uh…"

"Lupin, sir, Remus Lupin." I said. "And no I didn't give him any pointers. He figured it out all by himself." I beamed at my favorite professor.

"Ah, well, that's fantastic! Good job, Mr. Lupey!" He smiled and walked off, handing more trays out. Remus glared at Professor Slughorn.

"I don't like that guy…" He muttered. I laughed.

"Don't worry, he'll like you. You just have to be a good student. Actually you have to be more like an exceptional student. Then, he'll favor you, like me." I shrugged and grabbed the gnome.

"But, I don't really want him to favor me…" He mumbled. I chuckled.

"Really? I barely try in this class and I get exceptional grades." I beamed.

"Well, that's because… nevermind." He shook his head and grabbed the gnome. I dropped mine in my cauldron and watched bubbles rise to the surface. I grabbed the giant spoon that was given to me and stirred the potion with it. I felt the gnome with it and felt him squirming.

"Oooo! Lily, help! It's trying to get out!" Sirius shrieked as the tiny gnome reached a hand up to get out of the cauldron. James doubled over from laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Sirius calm down, it's just a-"

"ACCK! LILY!" He screamed as the gnome pulled itself up and over the brim of the cauldron.

"Padfoot, it's just a gnome," Remus said between gasps of laughter. James slammed the table with his fist over and over again.

I giggled a little as Sirius took a step away from it. Then, I pulled it out of the cauldron and it wiggled it in front of him. He yelled out and jumped. James wiped the tears from his eyes and kept howling with laughter.

"What is going on here?!" Professor Slughorn came over as I was reaching over the table, wiggling the gnome before Sirius and when Remus and James were rolling on the floor from laughter.

"Uh…" I said as Remus and James got up off the floor. I put the gnome next to the cauldron and looked down into the cauldron.

"Ms. Evans… I'm appalled. I refuse to believe you are engaging in these…" He looked between James, Remus, and Sirius and then back to me. "Shenanigans."

"I'm sorry, Professor Slughorn… I was just trying to help out Sirius with his gnome." I lied, looking at my potion. I saw a little gnome face peek out of it and blow a raspberry.

"Don't let it happen again or else I'll have to move one of you…" He narrowed his eyes a little and walked away.

I pulled my gnome out and held it in my palm. He squirmed and tried to get out. I held him and giggled. He was probably a couple of inches tall and was extremely harmless.

"Awww, it's really cute, actually." James laid his head on my shoulder as I looked down into my palm. He put a hand on my other shoulder.

"James, you might want to go back to your potion…" I laughed as James' gnome started to slowly crawl out of the cauldron.

"Oh, shit!" He exclaimed and ran to his cauldron.

"Mr. Potter, watch your language!" Professor Slughorn called over the heads of students. I smiled at Professor Slughorn as if to tell him everything was ok.

"Prongs, you better watch your mouth…" Sirius quipped. James shoved him playfully.

"Shut up, Padfoot." He muttered. Then, a mysterious grin stretched across his face and he grabbed his giant soup spoon. He picked up the fidgeting gnome and shoved it into Sirius' face.

"AGGGGHH!" Sirius screamed and fell over trying to back pedal away. I laughed so hard I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

"That's it! You, come with me." Professor Slughorn stormed over and pointed right at James. James sighed and put the gnome down onto the table. It scurried away and off the table where it landed with a splat.

"Aww," I muttered as James followed Professor Slughorn out of the potions room. I picked up the tiny gnome that wasn't moving. I stroked it's belly and tried to feel it breathing but there was nothing.

I sighed and put the miniscule gnome on the table and covered with a small cloth.

"Lily, stop making a little funeral for a damn gnome!" A Slytherin boy shouted. I scowled.

"Back off, you shithead!" I yelled back. I wasn't sad I was just disappointed no one cared.


	25. Chapter 25

Year 7

James

"James… are you studying?" Lily asked, peering over my shoulder. I closed my book as we walked down the hall. I glared.

"No…" I smiled and tucked my book under my shoulder.

"You were studying!" She exclaimed, flinging her arms up in the air. I chuckled.

"Prongs! Come over here!" I heard Sirius yell across the hall. I saw him, Peter and Remus all huddled around something in Sirius' hand. I kissed Lily's cheek and told her I'd see her in class. She nodded and marched away to some of her friends. I rushed over to Sirius.

"What's going on? What are you all-" I cut myself off when I saw what was in Sirius' hand. He was holding a dragon egg that was completely green with little yellow spots on it.

I felt the corner of my lips slowly lift into a smile. "Where did you even get that?"

"The back alleys of Diagon Alley." Peter chuckled and goggled at the egg.

"Mates, this is not a dragon egg," Sirius stated. "But this is an egg that shoots out sparks… everywhere." A smirk appeared on his face.

"So, what are going to do?" Remus asked, examining all our faces. He looked a little disappointed but looked up for the idea anyways.

"Well, obviously, we're going to release it in the Great Hall." Sirius smirked and hid the egg in his robe. Peter cackled and nodded.

I had no idea what to make of this. Something could go wrong and either our prank would fail or someone would get hurt. I didn't want the trick to fail so we look like doofuses but I also didn't want it to work so well that it could potentially hurt someone.

"Potter! Black! Lupin!" I heard a strict, feminine voice bark at us from across the hall. Professor McGonagall marched up to us and Peter scampered away. I was about to point him out but then McGonagall had her eyes set on him.

"Pettigrew! Just because I didn't see you doesn't mean you can run away." She yelled. He scooted back to our huddle that was now facing her. I swore I heard her mumble "Coward… don't know why he's in Gryffindor…"

"You four need to get to class. 5 points from Gryffindor from the each of you." She huffed and marched off.

We all muttered our discouragement and walked off to our next class which was Care of Magical Creatures. When we got out to the edge of the forest, we saw that we had a substitute. It was a man who looked very fragile. He wasn't old, and neither was he young. He looked like a middle aged man that was very short. Not as short as Professor Flitwick.

"Boys and girls, gather around, gather around." He was holding something in front of his face that was concealed by his hand. Everyone moved closer to him.

"My name is Professor Tikli and I will be your professor for a few months. Your original professor has gone on a trip to…" He looked up at the sky. "You know, I can't remember!" He chuckled. "He'll be back soon, though. Anyhoo," Professor Tikli held out his hand so everyone could see the small creature.

"This is the first Golden Snitch. It's called the Golden Snidget." He stroked the back of the plump, round bird. It's wings were small and it's beak was long, like a hummingbird.

"Raise your hand if you play Quidditch." He asked, looking at each of us. I raised my hand as well as some of the other Gryffindors. We all raised it slowly.

"Ah, this is something you would be interested in, Quidditch players." He beamed and let the bird flutter it's too-small wings for it's body. It zoomed around very fast though and dated from student to student. He would stay on one student for a second and then fly on.

"This particular one is especially fast. Of course, the ball we use today is faster and much smaller." Professor stated, watching the bird rush around. Then, it returned to his hand and he concealed it by cupping his hands over it.

Lily raised her hand. Professor Tikli smiled and nodded his head towards her. "Yes, the redhead." He laughed.

"Lily Evans, sir." She said, clearly not liking the fact that he didn't ask her name. "And I was just wondering, how did you get ahold of one of these… they're supposed to be-"

"Miss Evans, where I got this creature is classified and you should not be shoving yourself into situations like this." He scowled. Lily looked taken aback. "Besides, how do you know this? Aren't you a girl?" He asked.

"Yes, I am, last I checked." She shot back. "What does that have to do with me knowing what a Golden Snidget is?"

"Girls, like yourself, should be seen and not heard." Professor Tikli said, cooly. Lily stared daggers into him. Almost all the girls did the same. "Girls shouldn't even be allowed to go to Hogwarts! Honestly, I don't know how Dumbledore allows this!"

"Fine, have it your way." Lily scowled and turned on her heel. She marched back to the castle. The girls looked at each other and then looked at Lily. They nodded their heads and ran after her. All of them.

The guys around me groaned. Professor Tikli stared at the girls, open mouthed. The Golden Snidget on his hand fluttered away and into the woods.

"Look at what you've done!" A short, skinny boy yelled. Sirius nudged me with his elbow.

"Remind me never to fight with your girlfriend." He said out of the corner of his mouth.

"Remind me as well," I said, staring at the girls as they all disappeared.


	26. Chapter 26

Year 7

Lily

"Such an idiot,"

"Mosongonist,"

"Who says that in this day and age?"

I stomped down the corridors, leading the group of girls. I felt powerful yet full of anger. Who in their right mind says that to a group of teenage girls?

"Hey, Lily," Alice tapped my shoulder. "Where exactly are we going?" I heard some girls murmur in agreement.

"To… we… are going… to McGonagall!" I exclaimed, clutching my books. I stared straight ahead of me but I knew the girls were confused.

"McGonagall? Wouldn't she have a class right now?" I heard Rose, who sounded like she was in the back. I huffed a little and turned a corner. The girls followed.

"Probably, but… we'll just… actually I change my mind. Let's go to Dumbledore." I was making up everything as I stormed down the corridors.

The girls cheered and we walked up to Dumbledore's office entrance. I racked my brain for the password. I knew it had to be something he liked…

"Licorice snaps!" Alice squeaked. The gargoyle turned to showcase a spiral staircase that lead straight up to Dumbledore's office. I stared in shock at her.

She shrugged. "I was here the other day. McGonagall lead me." All the girls shrugged with her and followed me up the stairs. We were all silent except for a few whispers here and there.

"Headmaster?" I called out. We opened the door that lead to his office. He was standing, petting a bird that looked very old. It's fading red feathers were falling off with every stroke that Dumbledore gave him.

"Lily Evans, come in." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling as he turned to face me. "Ah, and company. It seems as though you have something to complain about. I saw you witches walk across the grounds from your Care of Magical Creatures class." He stated. I swallowed and lead the girls inside his office. They all filed in and spread across the office, not getting near Dumbledore. I took a step forward as he returned to his desk.

"Um, yes, sir we do." I stumbled over my words. I never really felt confident around the Headmaster. He always looked welcoming and I know he cared for me. There was always the intimidation, though, of knowing he's one of the greatest wizards of our time. Then, I remembered what that rat of a professor said.

"Our new substitute, Professor Tikli, has offended me and my fellow female classmates by saying…" I swallowed again. My confidence had left as fast as it had come.

"He said girls like Lily should be seen not heard!" Alice piped up. She was in front of the group but not as far up as I was. Dumbledore directed his attention to her and she looked like her confidence had disappeared as well.

"And he also said that he wants Hogwarts to not allow girls in and he… he questioned why you allowed them." Rose called out. She was in the back corner because she was so tall. Dumbledore turned his head to see her. She was on the opposite side of Alice.

The Headmaster nodded his head slowly and looked back at me. "Thank you, ladies. Lily, did he direct this to you?"

"Yes, sir. I had wanted to ask a question about this creature he was showing us and he responded with what we've just stated,"

"What creature, if I may ask?" Dumbledore asked, sitting down at his desk.

"Uh, a Golden Snidget." I exclaimed. Dumbledore looked as though he was well aware of the situation with the Golden Snidget species.

"Headmaster," Clover shouted out, raising a hand. "Aren't those supposed to be illegal?"

"Yes, correct Miss Brim. They have been made illegal to buy." Dumbledore said, adjusting his half moon spectacles. All the girls waited in anticipation as he studied the group. Then, his eyes returned to me.

"I am aware that Professor Tikli snuck some illegal creatures into this school but I had no idea he was so old fashion." Dumbledore slimmed his beard down with his hand.

"So, what should we do about it?" Some girls asked in the middle of the crowd. I heard another girl shush her.

"Well, I think I'll have a word with him." Dumbledore said, calmly. I felt anger started boiling up inside of me. My cowardness left me and my confidence. I was filled with rage and I wanted to punch a wall.

"Professor, this man is a sexist! It's offensive to have someone judge you by your gender! Honestly, men don't get that because they don't face sexism!" I yelled out, flinging my arms up in the air. I saw a little glimmer in Dumbledore's eyes and within a second, he was standing up, walking over to me.

"Men do face sexism, everyone faces some sort of sexism or racism in their life." He said, very seriously and quietly. I took a step back but didn't break eye contact. My dad always told me to never break eye contact when talking to someone.

"I-I'm sorry-" I started. Dumbledore waved a hand dismissively to the girls behind me. They all nodded quickly and scurried out of his office. Dumbledore's eyes returned to me once the door closed.

"Ms. Evans, you are correct that women get the worse half of sexism. They are seen as objects more than men." Dumbledore turned on his heel and started pacing very slowly. He held his hands behind his back.

"But men do get the pressure of being seen as the 'strong ones'. That's why men always are afraid to show tears…" Dumbledore sighed and observed the paintings of previous headmasters.

"I-I'm sorry, I just-"

"Lily, do not apologize for stating the truth, except for that last part. I understand that you are a feminist and that's quite excellent." Dumbledore looked at me from the side of his eye and smiled slightly. "You have to understand that sexism is a tricky subject. I admire that you defend and fight for your rights but be careful. Be very," He walked over to his desk. "Very careful. You could upset some people in the wizarding world…" He sighed and waved his hand.

"You are dismissed. You may go to your next class." He shook his head and turned away from me. I looked at the bird one time as it moaned out in pain. Then, it burst into flames. I gasped and pointed at the bird.

"Sir! Your-"

"Yes, he does that all the time. A new bird will appear out of it's ashes, now go before you're late!" He snapped. I took another step away and then turned around. I held in all the anger and sorrows I had from upsetting Dumbledore. Had I upset him though? I was confused and I needed to think. So I opened the door and bumped right into James.


	27. Announcement

Hey guys, so obviously, you've noticed that I haven't updated this story in a really long time. I've lost interest in many stories and then keep starting new ones. If you all want me to keep updating please PM me or write a review because I've lost all steam in this story. A little message from you guys would be marvelous because this profile is dead. Thank you to all the people who've reviewed my story, favorited, and followed. You all mean the world to me. The fact that a few people like my writing is amazing because I love it so much.


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